Boundaries of the Mind
by Hielo y Sombra
Summary: Allura Mithri is a quiet girl. She stays out of everyone's business, does what she's told, and almost never speaks up to defend herself. She tells herself it's best this way, because if she speaks, she'll say things she shouldn't know. But when she's sent to another world, she'll have to break her silence… or risk losing everything. Winx. 'T' for mild language and violence
1. Chapter 1, Allura Mithri Reighn

Boundaries of the Mind- (Winx) Allura Mithri is a quiet girl. She stays out of everyone's business, does what she's told, and almost never speaks up to defend herself. She tells herself it's best this way, because if she speaks, she'll say things she shouldn't know. But when she's sent to another world, she'll have to break her silence… or risk losing everything.

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**Winx: Hello! Just me today! This is a new story I've been working on. Anyway, I haven't got much to say. I don't own Tales of the Abyss… OC's and made-up artes belong to me, Tony(Marluxia of Avalon), or Kairi(Twilight PhoenixFyre). Oh, and most other worlds/species belong to us too! Now… Enjoy the chapter!**

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_A wise old owl sat in an oak,_

_The more he heard the less he spoke;_

_The less he spoke the more he heard._

_Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?_

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Chapter 1**

**Allura Mithri Reighn**

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

"Allura, get in here before you catch something!"

Drip…

"Allura Mithri Reighn!"

"I'll come in later!" I finally reply. My mother doesn't hear me though. I'm not surprised. I'm more than a hundred yards away, hidden high in a tree hollow, safe and dry from the steady shower that the White Rain brings every year. My mother's calls continue to ring out for a few more minutes before she gives up.

Allura Mithri Reighn… It's been a while since I've heard my mother say my full name. She doesn't like to be reminded of father, so she usually calls me Ally. I hate that nickname… I don't really like my first name at all, to be honest. I prefer to be called Mithri.

No one knows that though, because I never talk unless I have to. I can't lie, you see. Lying is impossible for someone of Fae blood… like me… the little half-Fae half-human freak.

I pull my legs up closer to my chest, not wanting my thoughts to take over again. I've already had enough of that, moping around doesn't help. I came out here to get away from my mother, not to dwell on the past, or what other people think. I'm tired of knowing what other people think.

Speaking of which…

"Mithri… I know you're up there. Mind if I join you?" a quiet voice breaks the almost-silence. I shrug.

"I don't care," I reply, scooting back further into the hollow to make space. But the dark-skinned girl doesn't enter the hollow. She's soaking wet… and her silvery-violet hair is starting to glow blue. Thoughts spin, mine and hers, and I open my mouth, then close it, unsure of what to say.

"Surprise…?" she says to me, though it's more of a question. I can tell that she didn't expect it either. "I guess my mother was a Ferines, then."

"Yeah… That explains why your eyes don't have that chemical like other half-Velis," I mutter. She smiles.

"I can't breath under water either… But it seems that I can actually…" she trails off, holding her hand up. A light, sea-green light sprouts from it, shaping into two sets of angel wings with three darker spheres in the middle. "…summon a teriques," she finished. I smile.

"It's beautiful, Lora," I tell her. She smiles, her crystal blue eyes lighting up.

"Thank you," she says. Then she looks up at the cloudy sky and sighs. "I have to go… I told my sister I wanted to show you my teriques. She told me to be back before it got too dark," she tells me. She chuckles. "I'd reach in and give you a hug, but I'd get you soaked, and I don't want you catching anything nasty," she adds before jumping down the tree and leaving.

I'm left alone again, but I really don't mind. It's quiet. No sounds save the pattering of the rain, nothing to disturb me, no thoughts flying through the air to invade my mind.

I fall asleep out in that tree hollow. I've done it before, so I'm not surprised. But I'm supposed to go attend classes today, which means running back home to get a change of clothes and then running to the village. I don't really like having to do that, but it doesn't bother me the way some things do.

I'm the last one to arrive at the building. The others are all there already, even Maeve, who isn't even a student. She simply sits in the back and listens.

"Ah, Allura. How nice of you to join us. I was afraid you might not make it," the teacher, Professor… McCoy, was it?... says. He's a pretty short man, but he's so annoying. He knows that I prefer Mithri, but he insists on calling me Allura. He lies a lot too, and that's not even starting in on some of the perverted things he thinks about the girls in the class.

Lora doesn't come here, so I'm alone for the day. The other students ask me questions that I never answer. More often than not, they know the answer and are just trying to get me to talk. But I can't start talking in class. If I do, I'll speak my mind. And if I start speaking my mind, I'll be speaking their minds as well.

Yes, I'm a telepath. I can hear others' thoughts, even project my own when I'm calm. I've only ever done that once, though, and it was to warn Lora about the monster behind her. I have never actually touched another person's mind, though I know I can. But despite everything I've done to avoid this 'gift,' I can't turn it off. I always hear people's thoughts…

And I wish I couldn't. I'm constantly being bombarded on all sides by thoughts, many of which are perverted or dark, thoughts that I don't want to listen to at all. I can't block them out. All I can do is focus on something and hope that they don't catch my attention. It's an art I've almost mastered over the years.

Professor McCoy finally lets us out for lunch, and I head straight for a tree behind the school building. My lunch is a simple sandwich that I finish quickly, but it's the relative silence that I love. The other students are out front of the building, eating, playing, and forgetting about me.

Except for Maeve and Rishu. Maeve notices everything from her seat in the back of the classroom, and Rishu is a child genius. They aren't friends, exactly, but they don't bother me the way other people do. Maeve understands what it's like to be a half-Fae with a strange ability, and Rishu… well, he's fascinated by our abilities, and yet, he isn't like most people who would be insistent upon badgering us for information.

"Hey. McCoy thinking bad thoughts again? You've got that look on your face like you really don't want to know something," Maeve's voice interrupts my thinking.

"Not McCoy, for once. That blonde bimbo and her greasy-haired boyfriend," I tell them. Maeve cringes.

"Yup. Nasty," she agrees. "By the way, we'll be having more of that lovely rain tonight… and tomorrow… and the day after…" she grumbles. I smile and jump out of the tree to join the two of them on the ground.

"Lora's half-Ferines, I'm sure she won't mind," I tell them. Rishu's mind starts up into a whirlwind, and I almost regret bringing it up. He must have noticed the look on my face though, because he slows his thinking down a minute later. He knows that thinking like that so close to me gives me a headache.

The rest of the lunch period is spent in silence. When we are forced to rejoin the others inside the building, we sit in our usual spots and listen… Well, Maeve listens. Rishu is thinking about Lora, while my mind is focused on the short story I am writing to keep my mind occupied.

Finally, McCoy lets us out for the day, and I wander into the woods, like I do every day. I never make it far before my mother starts yelling my name, and I usually head home at that point, just so she'll shut up. It's already misting, so I head north from the village I live outside of. The Velis village is somewhere to the north. Lora always intercepts me, so I've never actually made it there.

Just as I had expected, Lora stops me about halfway to where the map says the village is and we head to the tree hollow. It's my special place, but I don't mind Lora being there. She has this amazing gift to create shields around her mind so that I don't have to listen to her thoughts, and I love her for doing it as often as she does.

"So, school still as boring as usual?" she asks. I nod.

"McCoy's still a perverted bastard," I inform her. She sighs and starts climbing our tree. The rain has started pouring now, and we're both soaked. Lora's hair is starting to glow blue again, and now that I can see her braid, her hair looks beautiful glowing like that.

"Mithri, are you coming?" she asks as I continue to stare at her. She's shorter than your average Velis, but I'm not surprised, seeing as how she's only half Velis. She's still tall compared to most girls her age. I nod and start climbing, and pull my bag off my back once I'm in the hollow. Lora's sitting outside, probably enjoying the water running down her arms and back. She always did love the water…

I pull out a towel and dry my arms off as best I can before pulling out a large book. I open it up about a fourth of the way in and smile at the words written on the page. Lora notices and chuckles.

"Still hauling around your father's lexicon?" she asks. I nod, my smile disappearing at the mention of my father. I go back to reading. The lexicon has been written in a long-dead language, so it's taken me a while to learn it so I can read what my father left for me. It has something to do with magic and these things called fonons. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but I'm still struggling to read it, so I'm not too surprised.

"Yeah… So, has your father told you who your mother is, now that we know it was a Ferines?" I ask. Lora shook her head.

"No… He told me that she was dead when I asked and started sulking," she replies. I frown. "So… Learn anything from your father? Or are you still having trouble reading Utheridian?"

I laugh, but my smile doesn't quite reach my eyes, despite the genuine amusement I draw from Lora asking me about something I've just been thinking about. Sometimes I wonder if I'm unintentionally projecting around her. "Well… Not really. It doesn't make sense. Most of it is about these things called fonons, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. There are a few pages missing back here though, and judging from the information around the missing pages, they had the stuff that would make the rest of this more sensible-sounding," I tell her. Lora seems thoughtful for a moment.

"Fonons, huh? Well, I don't know much, but I might be able to talk to someone about that," she says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Someone knows about fonons?" I ask, surprised. Lora shrugs.

"I'm not sure. But he was talking about a bunch of strange stuff and I think he mentioned fonons. I'll talk to him later, if you want me to," she tells me. I think about it for a few moments.

"Would you please? I can't make heads or tails of half of this… What the hell is Tales of the Abyss?" I ask, my eyes skimming over an extremely faded part of the writing. I can't read most of the lower part of the page because of it. All I can read is '…trials during Tales of the Abyss, the participant…'

"Okay… And what's Tales of the Abyss?" Lora replies. I shrug, just as baffled as she is once I show her the words on the page. "Strange…" she comments quietly. I sigh.

"Oh well… And shouldn't you be headed home soon?" I ask. Lora looks up at the sky and sighs.

"Yeah. Your mother is going to start calling soon. I suggest going home before she does so," she tells me. I roll my eyes and close the lexicon before shoving it into my bag again. Lora jumps down and waves, heading away from me back toward her own village, while I start running through the rain, trying to get home before my mother starts yelling.

I've slipped into my room when she starts calling. I don't bother answering, I know she'll be upstairs looking for me in just a moment.

As if on a cue, she steps into my room as I pull a dry dress on. She frowns at my wet hair. "You'd better not catch something, Allura. We don't have the money to pay for more medicine than what I have to get for you. Dinner's ready," she tells me, leaving as soon as she's done so. I shrug and brush my hair out before heading downstairs, black ribbon in hand.

I've braided some hair on the left side and tied the black ribbon in before I reach the tiny kitchen. I get my supper of ham and beans before returning to my room. My maroon bangs fall into my eyes, irritating me, as I haven't had my hair down for weeks.

My eyes scan over my room again as I step back in. My mother's been up here, I can tell because my bookshelf has been straightened up and it actually looks like a bookshelf now. The books that had been scattered around my room are sitting innocently on the shelves, and I scowl. Mother never puts them back the right way.

Once I've finished my dinner, I start pulling books off the shelf. I can hear my mother's thoughts as she walks up the stairs. I know she's going to stop in my room, but I don't care. My books are out of order, and that takes priority.

"Allura, you'd better not be pulling those books off that shelf just to scatter them around your room again. They're a pain to track down and put up," she says, opening the door and seeing what I'm doing. I roll my eyes, but she can't see, because my back is turned to her. "Allura… when was the last time you actually took your medicine?" she asks quietly. I look in the mirror, and sure enough, my left eye is a shining gold, while the right eye is a light cerulean.

"A few weeks ago," I answer. "That stuff is nasty, and it doesn't do anything to block my telepathy at all. The only thing it does is change both of my eyes to gold," I add. I hear my mother sigh.

"Allura…" she mutters. I ignore her and continue organizing my books. Fiction on the bottom two shelves, in alphabetical order by author's last name. Non-fiction on the top three shelves, in alphabetical order by title.

I sigh as I stick another set of nursery rhymes onto the shelf between fiction and non-fiction. My mother is still standing in the doorway. Her thoughts betray her intentions, but I don't want to start talking again, because I know it will just end in another argument that I'll lose.

"You need to take your medicine, Allura," she tells me. I hold back a groan. She's calling me by my first name now just to annoy me. If she thinks it's going to get me to take that nasty, useless medicine, she's nuts. "Ally, please," she adds. I roll my eyes and ignore her.

After a few more minutes of her trying to get me to take the medicine, she finally gave up and left, and I put the last book back up onto the shelf before pulling a book of nursery rhymes off the lower middle shelf and settling onto my bed to read it aloud.

_My mother said, I never should  
__Play with the gypsies in the wood.  
__If I did, then she would say:  
__Naughty girl to disobey.  
__Your hair shan't curl and your shoes shan't shin.  
__You gypsy girl you shan't be mine.  
__And my father said that if I did,  
__He'd rap my head with the teapot lid._

_My mother said that I never should  
__Play with the gypsies in the wood.  
__The wood was dark, the grass was green;  
__By came Sally with a tambourine.  
__I went to sea – no ship to get across;  
__I paid ten shillings for a blind white horse.  
__I upped on his back and was off in a crack,  
__Sally tell my mother I shall never come back._

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The next day is boring beyond belief. I wake up, eat a small breakfast, go to school, eat lunch with Maeve and Rishu, finish the school day, and return home. I spend the evening working on an essay assigned during school, and then I eat dinner.

The day after, however, is another story. I don't have school, so when I wake up and dress, I stay in my room reading a story about a mysterious female thief. Mother walks in a few hours later and gives me a sandwich, which I eat before leaving the house. The bag on my back carries my father's lexicon. I don't think I've left home without it since he did.

Lora, Maeve, Rishu, and a boy I don't know meet me in the village, underneath a tree near the fountain in the center. The boy's bangs hang over his right eye, but his hair is pulled up into a high ponytail on the left side of the back of his head. And it's a strange color; slate gray with dark red streaks.

"Um, hello…" I greet him. He looks at me kind of blankly, and I realize with a start that I can't hear his thoughts.

"You can't hear him, can you Mithri?" Maeve asks. I look over at her, confused. "I can't see him," she explains.

"Sakkaku, this is my friend Mithri. She was the one who was wondering about the fonons," Lora says. Our conversation from a couple of days previously comes back to me, and I smile a little. "Mithri, this is Sakkaku Inari." Sakkaku holds out a hand, and I shake it.

"Lora told me that your father left behind a lexicon that mentions fonons. May I see it?" he asks. I nod and pull the bag off of my back, sitting down as I remove the lexicon from it. Lora is sitting on the fountain's edge, with Rishu standing next to her, trying to keep his mind from going into whirlwind mode, but failing miserably.

Sakkaku takes the lexicon gently and opens it. "Utheridian?" he asks, turning to me. I nod.

"Yes… Father really loved languages… He knew how to speak almost twenty, and he could write in six," I tell him. Sakkaku chuckles.

"Sounds like my sister," he mutters. He seems to read it for a while before looking up at Maeve, Rishu, and Lora. The younger two are interrogating the half-Velis about her Ferines heritage. "Could we go somewhere a bit more… private? I'd rather not talk about this where others can hear," he asks. I'm confused, but I shrug and get up, grabbing my bag and leading him out of the village and to a clearing in the forest nearby.

"So, you understand what it's talking about?" I ask. He looks at me, his right eye visible past his bangs. His hairstyle is disorienting, it feels as though he has his head turned to the right when it is, in fact, straight.

"Yes… Allura, tell me something. Did your father tell you something in another language before he disappeared?" he asks. I tilt my head, hundreds of questions blossoming in my mind. How does he know my first name? And why would he wonder about something like that?

"Well… Yeah. It was a language I'd never heard before," I tell him a moment later. Then I recite the words from memory, and the look on Sakkaku's face changes from detached curiosity to a blank expression that looks… almost like he is bracing himself to tell me something.

"Allura… Your father's message is a request to one of us… I suppose I need to tell you then," he says. I am utterly confused at this point, so when he gestures to me to sit down, I do so. "There is a group known as Guardians who are charged with the protection of the various worlds. Your father was one of us. He requested that, should an opening be presented, you have the chance to follow in his footsteps," Sakkaku explains. I frown.

"Wait, you mean there are other worlds out there?" I ask. He nods.

"Yes. The Velis and Ferines are from other worlds, as are the Fae," he says. I think for a few moments.

"Father was a Guardian? And he wants me to follow in his footsteps?" I ask. Sakkaku sighs.

"Yes. I never met Arani, but my sister knew him. He's gone missing," he explains. "As for you following in his footsteps… The trials you'll face won't be easy, and I can tell you aren't a fighter. While I will talk to Kairi about letting you take them, I'll tell you right now that I doubt you'll be able to make it through the first two trials."

I look up at the sky, my thoughts a blurred whirlwind that challenges Rishu's mind at full force. I frown… then make up my mind.

"Who's Kairi?" I ask first.

"She's the one in charge of the Guardians for the time being. She hasn't had a chance to make the pilgrimage to Talkeina, so we don't know if she's the chosen leader or not," he answers. I nod.

"Alright. I'm going to try then. I'll take the trials if she'll let me," I tell him. I hear another mind suddenly as a shield is dropped, and I'm on my feet almost instantly, turning to face the newcomer, a woman with emerald eyes and gold hair streaked with bronze.

"Kairi? What are you doing here?" I hear Sakkaku ask. The woman chuckles.

"I actually came to talk to you about something. I heard the entire conversation. I thought you looked like Arani," she says, nodding to me at the end. "So… you want to take the trials… I trust you've thought it through?"

"Yes…" I tell her. She smiles.

"Alright. Sakkaku, hand me Arani's lexicon, would you?" she says. The boy does so, and she pulls three pieces of paper out of a folder she's removed from her bag. I recognize the writing immediately.

"You have the missing pages?" I ask. Kairi nods.

"Yes… You'll need them, I think," she tells me. She waves a hand over the book with the pages slipped into place, and the papers are re-attached to the book as if they were never torn out. Then she flips to the page with the faded text at the bottom and starts muttering again, and as she runs her finger over the faded words, they reappear. "Arani asked Marik to remove those pages and fade these words when he requested this lexicon be brought back here. You'll need it in top condition for the trials thought," she says once she's done.

"You're sending her to Auldrant, aren't you?" Sakkaku asks. Kairi smiles.

"Yes," she answers. Then she turns back to me. "The Guardians work on multiple worlds, so can you figure out what the first part of the trials is?" she asks. I take the lexicon she's offering me and clutch it to my chest.

"You're going to put me on another world?" I ask. She smiles and nods.

"Yup. We'll be watching, but we'll only intervene if your actions disrupt the balance too badly or if you have a genuine risk of dying… Mind you, in the case of the second one, we'll hold off as long as possible," she tells me. I nod and take a deep breath.

"Okay… I think I can do that…" I tell her. She chuckles.

"Just a moment, Mithri. I can't just send you to a monster-infested world without some way to defend yourself. Here," she says, holding out a strange weapon. It's… well, it's a straw. A slightly decorative straw, but a straw nonetheless. "Some of the spells written in that lexicon will change that straw's appearance and boost its power, and that straw's power will boost your own."

"Um… where am I supposed to carry this?" I ask Kairi. She chuckles again.

"You can figure that out later. Oh, and just so you don't freak out, you'll be wearing different clothes when you wake up on Auldrant," she warns me. "And this is going to hurt a little."

A little? Understatement. Of. The. Century.

My whole body feels like it is on fire… Thankfully, I lose consciousness quickly. I never release my hold on my father's lexicon either.

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**Winx: So, that's the first chapter. What do you think of Allura so far? Or should I be calling her Mithri…? Honestly, you'd think I'd know what to call my own character. But then, she's one of my least developed characters, even though she's one of the oldest, so… she needed this. Oh well. Next chapter, Allura wakes up on Auldrant. Where and when will it happen, and who will find her first? Good questions… Thankfully, I do actually know the answers, contrary to Kairi's beliefs.**

**Kairi: Speaking of me…**

**Winx: Whoa, what are you doing here?**

**Kairi: I just wanted to mention that the Kairi in this story is my character Kairi Kitari, not the Kairi Balfour in 'A Spatial Tear.' (Or me, for that matter.) Oh, and the Ferines belong to Namco. They're from Tales of Legendia.**

**Winx: Okay, now get out! This is my story! –kicks Kairi out- Ahem… Please leave a review… I know it's still only on the first chapter. Also… Should I continue writing in Allura's POV, or should I do more in 3rd Person POV and switch to Allura for the important chapters where I really want to express her thoughts and emotions? I can't decide, so help is welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2, Who are you?

**Winx: Hi! Back already! (Surprisingly…) Anyway, big thanks to Kazegami-inkpot for reviewing the first chapter! Here's chapter two… I don't own Tales of the Abyss, but original characters, artes, worlds, species, and whatnot belongs to me and my friends who let me borrow them. So, here you go. Enjoy the chapter!**

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_There was an old woman lived under the hill,_

_And if she's not gone she lives there still._

_Baked apples she sold, and cranberry pies,_

_And she's the old woman that never told lies._

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**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Chapter Two**

**Who are you?**

"Wake up, Luke!" a young woman's voice cuts through the night. A redhead groans and opens his eyes.

"…Who are you?" he asks. The woman sighs.

"Oh, good, you're okay," she says. Luke looks around.

"…Where are we?" he asks. The woman frowns.

"I don't know," she says. "That was pretty strong. I almost thought we'd been caught in the Planet Storm…"

"Wait, that's right! You were trying to…! Oww!" Luke cries. The woman holds him down.

"Stop, don't try to move so suddenly. Are you injured? Where does it hurt?" she asks him. He knocks her hands away and stands, moving away. Another groan catches their attention, however. The girl moves over toward the field of flowers nearby and finds a young girl with maroon hair among them. "How did she get here?" she asks, kneeling down to check the girl over.

The girl groans again and opens her eyes. "Wh-whoa… Her eyes are different colors…" Luke muttered in shock. The girl looks between the two of them.

"Um…" she mumbles.

"What's you're name? I'm Tear," the woman asks. The girl rolls over and stretches her body out, then freezes and shoots up into a sitting position to look around. Laying nearby is a large, leather-bound volume and a silver straw, which the girl picks up with a relieved sigh.

"I'm Mithri," the girl finally answers after looking over herself, seemingly confused by the blue, gray, and black outfit she's wearing. Luke crosses his arms.

"I'm Luke… What happened, anyway? And where are we?" he demands. Tear stands up and puts her hands on her hips while Mithri sits down and opens the book to start reading.

"It would seem that a hyperresonance occurred between us," Tear answers.

"A hyperresonance? What's that?" Luke asks. Mithri opens her mouth, then closes it again.

"An isofon-induced resonance," Tear says. "I didn't expect you to be a Seventh Fonist, too. That was careless of me," she continues. "That would explain why the royal family is protecting you."

"Gah, shut up for a second! I don't understand a thing you're saying!" Luke yells. Mithri rolls her eyes. "Well, say something!" he adds a minute later. Tear puts a hand to her forehead.

"First you tell me to shut up, now you're telling me to talk," she mutters. Then she crosses her arms. "Let's save the discussion for later. You don't seem to know anything. Talking here would be a waste of time," she says. Luke puts his hands on his hips.

"So what are we gonna do now?" he asks.

"I'll escort you back to your manor in Baticul," Tear tells him. "But what about you, Mithri?" The maroon-haired girl doesn't answer, as she is completely absorbed in her book. "Mithri!"

Mithri yelps as Tear's voice gets her attention. "Um… um… Could I… um… come with you?" she stutters. Luke crosses his arms.

"Why?" he asks. Mithri clutches the book to her chest.

"I don't know where we are, and there are probably monsters around here," she answers. Tear nods.

"Alright," she says.

"How are you going to get me back to Baticul anyway? We don't know where we are any more than she does!" Luke grumbles. Tear points to the cliff behind Mithri.

"You see the sea just over there, don't you?" she asks. Luke mutters something. "Let's head out of this ravine and down to the coast. If we can find a road, there should be carriages passing along. We should be able t find a way back," she says. Luke frowns.

"And just how are we supposed to get to the sea from here?" he asks. Mithri stands.

"Listen…" she says. "There's water flowing… It's probably a river… We can follow it to the sea." Luke mutters something before Tear turns away from the cliff.

"Let's go," she says. The trio slowly moves away from the field of flowers, but they don't make it far before Tear holds out a hand. "…Monsters," she warns the other two. Mithri's eyes go wide and she clutches her book even tighter.

"Monsters?!" Luke cries as a beast emerges from the bushes nearby.

"Here they come!" Tear yells, drawing a knife.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Luke shouts, letting out a startled cry as the monster attacks. Mithri runs back a ways to get out of the way. She's clutching her straw in one hand, holding her book to her chest with the other arm.

The monster doesn't attack her, instead choosing to focus on Luke. The redhead manages to defeat it quickly enough, however. Once its fonons begin separating, he crouches and sighs in relief. "Th-that wasn't so tough," he says. Tear crosses her arms.

"Don't relax just yet. Look, there's more," she warns as a plant-like monster crosses the path in front of them. "If we come into contact with monsters like that, we'll have to fight them. Be careful."

"…Humph. Think you know everything, don't you?" Luke grumbles. Then he turns to Mithri. "And why didn't you help us?" he asks. Mithri bites her lip and plays with the edge of her skirt.

"I'm sorry… I've never fought before…" she says. Tear sighs.

"We'll have to keep the monsters away from her, then," the ash-haired woman says. Luke groans, but stands and starts making his way down the valley. Tear and Mithri follow, Mithri looking through her book the entire time.

"Hey, what's with that book of yours anyway? You haven't put it down since you woke up," Luke asks. Mithri's grip on the leather-bound volume tightens.

"It was my father's lexicon," she says quietly. She doesn't explain any more than that, though Luke is still curious. They've reached the bottom of a hill when Tear stops, Mithri and Luke following suit shortly.

"…Be careful. There's more than one of them this time," Tear warns as three of the plant-like monsters emerge from the bushes. Luke charges at one and Tear at another, but one of them runs past them, aiming for Mithri. "Mithri, watch out!" Tear cries.

The maroon-haired girl stares at the monster running toward her in fascination, then raises her straw to her lips and blows. The silver-blue bubbles pop in the monster's face and disorient it while she runs over past Tear. Then she starts flipping through her father's lexicon to start reading frantically.

When a monster comes too close, Mithri uses her straw to disorient it while she runs to another area to read. Finally, Luke and Tear kill the three monsters.

"That is a really useless weapon," Luke comments, pointing to Mithri's straw. She looks up and sticks her tongue out at Luke.

"At least it looks prettier than your little wooden play sword," she mutters, getting a little tired of Luke's attitude. Tear sighs.

"At least you can somewhat defend yourself… That will make things a little easier for me and Luke," she says. Mithri starts walking, still trying to read her lexicon in the moonlit darkness. "Um… Why are you trying so hard to read that? Can't it wait until morning?" she asks. Mithri bites her lip.

"I'm trying to figure this out," she replies. "If I can, I might be more help in battle." Tear crosses her arms.

"How?" she asks.

"Fonic artes," Mithri answers simply.

"You're trying to figure out how to use fonic artes?" Tear inquires. Mithri nods, and Tear is quiet as she thinks. Then, Mithri smacks her forehead with her straw. "Um… Is something wrong?" Tear asks.

"No… I just realized something," Mithri tells her. Then another small group of monsters attacks and they have to stop talking.

Luke gets wounded when one of the monsters sneaks up behind him, and Tear sighs, running off a ways to start casting. Mithri's attention, which had until then been on her lexicon, is suddenly focused on Tear. "O healing power… First Aid!" Tear chants. The arte heals Luke, but Mithri smiles for a different reason as she closes her eyes to feel around her.

She frowns when she realizes that this won't be as easy as she thought it would be. Sighing, Mithri decides to wait until she can see her lexicon to read it. A monster comes a little too close, and Mithri blows through her straw in irritation. Mild surprise flashes through her when the monster dies and its fonons separate.

"So apparently my bubbles do actually do damage…" she mutters. Then she rejoins Tear and Luke.

As the group walks over a fallen tree, Tear smiles. "There's the way out!" she cries.

"It's about time. I'm sick of this place," Luke comments. But Mithri holds up a hand.

"Wait… Someone's coming," she says quietly. A man rounds the bend up ahead a moment later and cries out in startled shock.

"Uah! D-don't tell me you're with the Dark Wings!" he stutters. Mithri rolls her eyes.

"…The Dark Wings?" Tear wonders.

"They're bandits. Two men and a woman… Wait, only one of you is male," the man tells her. Luke puts a hand on his hip.

"Humph. Don't go comparing me to some pathetic bandit," he grumbles.

"…Yes, you might upset the bandits," Tear says. Then she steps forward, ignoring Luke's protest. "We lost our way and wound up here. Who are you?" she explains.

"I'm a coachman," the man replies. "One of the wheels on my coach started acting up. We lost our drinking water when the jug fell off, so I came here to draw some more," he adds. Mithri sighs.

"A coach! Perfect!" Luke says. Tear seems to agree with him.

"Do you go to the capital?" she asks. The coachman nods.

"Yeah, that's my last stop," he tells the trio.

"Let's hitch a ride! I'm sick of walking," Luke decides.

Tear nods and says, "Yes, we don't know this area very well. Would that be alright with you?"

The coachman looks thoughtful for a moment and Mithri cringes slightly. "To the capital, it'll be 12,000 Gald a piece. You got enough on you?" he tells them. Tear looks worried, but Mithri is rummaging through her bag.

"That's expensive…" Tear mutters. Luke looks mildly surprised.

"Really? Sounds cheap to me. My dad'll take care of it when we get to the capital," he says. The coachman shakes his head though.

"That's no good. I need payment in advance," he tells them. Tear sighs and looks at something around her neck for a moment before taking it off.

"Will this work?" she asks. Mithri runs up to her and the coachman then.

"Wait… Tear… Here…" Mithri says, holding up a bag of Gald as she fishes through it. The coachman helps her count it out, and the maroon-haired girl is left with four thousand Gald.

"All right, that's the whole payment. Hop aboard," the man says. Mithri puts her Gald back into her bag as Tear puts her pendant back on.

"You have no idea how you got out here and yet you're carrying around forty thousand Gald?" Luke asks. "…Why?" Mithri shrugs and heads for the coach. The coachman returns shortly and they leave. Luke falls asleep moments after the coach leaves the valley, and Mithri and Tear follow suit not long after.

* * *

Tear is the first one awake, followed shortly by Mithri. The two girls look each other over before Mithri turns, opting to look out the window instead.

"Mithri… Thank you for paying the fee," Tear says. Mithri glances over at her and opens her lexicon to start reading.

"You looked like you didn't really want to give up that pendant. And besides… It was the least I could do to pay you two back for protecting me," she tells Tear.

"So you can actually say more than a dozen words at a time," Luke comments as he sits up straight. Mithri shoots a glare in his direction.

"Luke!" Tear scolds him. Then gunfire rings through the air, and all three occupants of the coach look out the window to see a landship speeding toward them on the tail of another coach.

"H-hey! That coach is under attack!" Luke cries.

"The army's chasing those bandits! It's those Dark Wings I mistook you for," the coachman informs them.

"You, there! Move your coach before you get caught in the crossfire!" a voice comes out of nowhere. The coach lurches as it's driver moves to the side to avoid the conflict. As the landship rides past, Luke moves to the other side of the coach to get a better look. The coach under attack leaves gunpowder behind on the bridge, and within moments, a loud explosion heralds the fall of Rotelro Bridge.

"Whoa! That was cool!" Luke cheers as Tear forcefully puts him back into his seat. Mithri is sitting cross-legged across from the duo, happily ignoring them in favor of reading.

"Wow! That's Malkuth's newest land dreadnaught, the Tartarus!" the coachman tells them. Luke and Tear are shocked.

"M-Malkuth?! What's the Malkuth military doing hanging around here?" Luke stutters.

"What do you mean? Of course they're here. There's been no end to the rumors that Kimlasca's going to start a war any day now. They've tightened security in this area," the coachman says.

"…Wait a minute. This isn't Kimlasca?" Tear asks.

"What are you talking about? This is the Malkuth Empire. The West Rugnica Plains," the coachman replies. Luke stands up angrily.

"Hang on! I thought this coach was headed for the capital, Baticul!" he cries. Mithri stops reading then and looks up.

"Nope, Grand Chokmah—capital of Malkuth and home to His Imperial Majesty, Peony the Ninth," the coachman says. Mithri sighs and Tear seems to share her opinion.

"…Hmmm, I was mistaken," Tear mutters. Luke glares at her.

"How can you be so calm about it?! How could you make a mistake like that?!" he yells. Mithri glares at him as his sits back down and crosses his arms.

"I didn't recognize the area. What's your excuse?" Tear shoots at him, betraying her feelings for the first time.

"I've been confined to the manor. I've never been outside. How the hell should I have known?" Luke grumbles. Mithri rolls her eyes.

"…You're sure acting strange. Are you two… sorry, three Kimlascan?" the coachman asks.

"No. They have business in Baticul though," Mithri answers for Tear, who is trying to quickly come up with an excuse. The ash-haired woman shoots Mithri a thankful look.

"That's the other direction, then. If you're going to Kimlasca you should've taken the road south, rather than crossing the bridge," the coachman says. "Mind you, with that bridge out, you can't go back now…"

"Are you serious? NOW what do we do?" Luke whines.

"We're passing through Engeve to the east on the way to Grand Chokmah. What do you two want to do?" the coachman asks. "Sorry, three… I keep forgetting there are three of you back there.

"That's alright," Mithri says, looking through her lexicon again.

"If we go all the way to Grand Chokmah, we'll just wind up farther away," Tear says. "Let's stop in Engeve and think about how to get back to Kimlasca."

"Take us to Engeve. I don't like walking," Luke grumbles.

"Okay. Then, here we go," the coachman says. Mithri looks up from her lexicon to glance at Luke before bringing her knees up almost to her chest and propping the heavy book against them.

"Mithri… Do you mind coming with us to Baticul? I feel kinda bad about having you pay the coach fares for us when it wasn't even to where we wanted to go," Luke asks as the coach approaches Engeve. "I'm sure if I talk to Father, he'll pay you back for it."

Mithri looks up at Luke for a moment before her eyes become locked on the page again for a moment. Then she looks back up at Luke, and the redhead is shocked to see that the iciness in her eyes has faded for a moment. "Thank you, Luke," she says quietly.

A short while later, the coach stops in Engeve and the trio gets out. "This is Engeve. If you're going to Kimlasca, you should head for the Kaitzur checkpoint south of here. Take care," the coachman tells them before turning and heading back to his coach. Tear crosses her arms.

"A checkpoint… We won't be able to get through without passports. This could be a problem…" she mutters. Luke rolls his eyes.

"It'll be fine. If I say I'm Duke Fabre's son, they'll let us through in no time," he says. "But right now, I want to check this place out! This is my first time in a city!"

"A city…? Well, I suppose we do need to prepare a bit before we leave. Let's stay the night here," Tear suggests. Mithri clutches her lexicon to her chest.

"Um… I'll meet you two at the inn later," she says. Tear and Luke look over at her.

"Alright. But don't stay out too late," Tear tells her. Luke crosses his arms and starts to walk off, and Tear follows him, leaving Mithri alone.

* * *

**Winx: Yes, boring, I know… Next chapter is better, but it might not be put up for a couple of days… (Depends on when Kairi gets the chapter back to me.) I still want opinions on 3rd Person POV or Mithri's POV, and I'd like to hear opinions on pairings too, since Kazegami-inkpot brought that up and the resulting conversation temporarily fried my brain…. Please leave a review… I'll see you all… whenever I see you…**


	3. Chapter 3, Fonist

**Winx: Hey! I _finally_ got this back from Kairi… Who has informed me that she is going to force me to keep to a schedule with these updates… -huffs and mutters under breath-**

**Arani: What was that?**

**Winx: I said, 'I will if she does.' Anyway… Here's Chapter Three, finally. Arani, I realize that you belong to Kairi, but do the disclaimer for me anyway since you're here?**

**Arani: Sure… Winx doesn't own Tales of the Abyss… or me… or Kairi… or Sakkaku… or Rishu or Maeve… Dang, girl. How many characters are you borrowing from her?**

**Winx: You can shut up now. –kicks Arani out– Well, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_For every evil under the sun,  
__There is a remedy, or there is none.  
__If there be one, try to find it;  
__If there be none, never mind it._

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Chapter Three**

**Fonist**

I find a tree on the opposite side of the village from where the coachman dropped us off and climb it, sitting up in the branches to read. Father left behind so much information… It's hard to believe just how informative these three pages that were missing are. Fonons, fon slots, fonists, fonic artes… It's all so confusing too.

I sigh and start reading where I left off this morning. Father is explaining how to identify fonons and draw them into the body in this section. I find myself wishing that I could have found this earlier, so I could have helped Tear and Luke… Oh well. No point in dwelling on the past.

And what is with this headache? It feels like… well, it feels like Rishu is nearby and not even bothering to reign his thoughts in. But it's far enough away that I can't figure out exactly who it is. I sigh and try to push it to the back of my mind, instead choosing to focus on the words in Father's lexicon.

I've started experimenting by reaching around me for fonons when a commotion catches my attention. A group of people is leading Luke to the house nearby, and Tear is following a ways behind. Their thoughts betray everything, and I sigh before returning to experimenting with fonons.

I've just started getting the feel of reaching out through my fon slots (where did they come from, anyway?) when another mind catches my attention. "Hey… What are you doing up in the tree?" a quiet voice asks a moment later. I look down at the green-haired boy.

"Reading," I answer. He looks curious.

"May I ask what you're reading?" he inquires. I redirect my attention to the lexicon and ignore him, and he leaves a moment later, entering the house Luke and Tear were taken to. Shortly, the duo steps out of the house after the citizens.

"Why is Fon Master Ion here…?" Tear asks. Luke looks at her in surprise.

"Fon Master Ion?" he wonders.

"The supreme leader of the Order of Lorelei," Tear tells him. Luke is thoughtful for a moment… Rather unsurprisingly, him in 'thinking mode' isn't very painful for me. The kid's an idiot.

"Hey, wait a minute. I heard Ion was missing. Master Van said he was returning home to look for him!" Luke grumbles.

"Really? That's news to me," Tear says. "I wonder what's going on… He didn't look like he was being held captive."

"I'll go ask him," Luke decides. Tear reaches out and grabs his sleeve before he can get too far though.

"Stop. They seemed to be in the middle of an important discussion. Let's come back tomorrow," she suggests. Luke crosses his arms as Tear starts to walk off.

"Humph. Why do I have to follow your orders?" he grumbles. I jump out of the tree, startling both of them.

"Maybe because she's escorting you back to you manor?" I counter before heading to the inn. Tear's thoughts gave away its location, so the three of us end up there shortly.

A girl in pink, white, and purple with dark hair is standing at the front desk talking to the owner, a man who I recognize as one of the citizens to drag Luke to the house from earlier. "Have you seen the person I was with? A boy, pretty short? Kind of out of it?" she's asking. The man shakes his head.

"Sorry, I was away from the inn for a little while…" he replies. The girl sighs.

"Honestly, that Ion! Where did he run off to?" she mutters. Luke hears though.

"Ion? You mean Fon Master Ion?" he asks. The girl turns to look at us.

"If you're looking for Ion, he was over at Rose's place," Tear tells her. She smiles.

"Really?! Thank you!" she says happily before trying to run off. Luke gets in her way though.

"Hey, wait a second. What's the Fon Master doing here? I heard he was missing," he asked. Anise feigns shock.

"Ack! Are there rumors like that floating around?! I have to tell Ion!" she cries, running off. I roll my eyes. Her thoughts betrayed just how fake that little act was.

"Hey!" Luke calls after her. "…Humph. She didn't answer my question," he mutters. Tear crosses her arms.

"Yes, but she looks like a Fon Master Guardian, so I assume Ion's journey is officially recognized by the Order of Lorelei," she says.

"A Fon Master Guardian?" Luke asks. Tear rolls her eyes.

"They're Ion's personal guard, a special force within the Oracle Knights," she explains. "They accompany him on all official business."

"That chick is one of Master Van's soldiers, huh…" Luke says. "…What was up with Ion being 'missing'? I'm gonna be so mad if that was just a mistake!" he grumbles. I sigh in frustration, wishing I could just tell Luke to stop thinking. But that would lead to questions that I definitely don't want to answer. Tear walks over to the innkeeper, but he lets us stay for free because of the mess caused earlier, even though I wasn't involved in it.

Once we're inside the room, Tear starts thinking and gives me a headache again. "Tomorrow, we'll head for the Kaitzur checkpoint. With the bridge out, that's the only way back to Baticul. We also have to do something about passports…" she says, letting her thoughts out. I'm sitting on the middle bed reading and experimenting with fonons again.

"…Grr, I can't stand it. I can't just leave like this!" Luke grumbles. Tear and I roll our eyes.

"Unbelievable. Are you still mad?" she asks. Luke turns to glare at her.

"Of course! They called me a thief!" he yells. Tear sighs and sits on the bed to my right, leaving Luke to simmer down and sit on the bed closest to the door. I'm reading about a very low-leveled fonic arte called Energy Blast when Luke speaks again. "Hey, do you know what cheagles are? They called them 'sacred.'"

I look up, confused. Cheagles?

"They're herbivores that live in the woodlands of the East Rugnica Plains. They're one of the symbols of the Order of Lorelei, along wit the Order's founder, Yulia," Tear explains. "Their forest is just north of this village, actually," she adds.

"We're going there tomorrow," Luke decides. Tear and I look over at him.

"To do what?" I ask. Luke lays down on the bed.

"To look for proof that they're the thieves," he informs us. Tear sighs.

"I doubt we'll find any," she says. Luke glares at her.

"Shut up! I've made up my mind!" he tells her. I sigh in exasperation and close my father's lexicon. I lay down and turn my back to Luke, as if that's going to keep his thoughts from annoying me well into the night.

"Go to sleep," I order him. He glares at the back of my head.

"You can't order me!" he grumbles. I roll my eyes, and he falls asleep not much later. I follow him shortly after.

* * *

I'm the first one up in the morning. That headache is gone… thankfully. I get up and actually examine my clothes for the first time.

The simplest part of it is the gray corset-like thing over the blue dress. The dress is sleeveless, but one side reaches to my knees and the other only to mid-thigh. The collar and bottom hem of the dress are lined in black. And then there's the black cape-like thing… A necklace-like cord holds it in place. It bares my shoulders, too… The right side is only about half a foot long, whereas the left is at least five times the length, resulting in a very crooked diagonal lined with gray.

I sigh and fiddle around with the belts. One of them is wide and a darker blue than the dress. It has a silvery border. The other one is thinner and black. They criss-cross around my hips.

I pull my boots back on and smile. They aren't much different than the pair I liked to wear back home in that they're black and the front is in a point a few inches higher than the back. There's a gray edge around the tops though, and the soles are gray…

I pull my ribbon out of my hair and brush through it. Tear wakes up while I'm brushing my hair, and I offer to let her brush hers once I'm done. She smiles and accepts my offer, so once I've separated the hair I usually braid, I hand her the brush and get to work.

My braid is in place, black ribbon and all, just minutes later. Tear hands the brush back and I put it away before opening my father's lexicon once more. Luke, surprisingly enough, wakes rather early, and once he's done his thing, the three of us leave the inn. Luke is definitely in a bad mood this morning, though whether that's because he got up so early or because of the cheagles, I'm not entirely sure. His thoughts are difficult to pick up on this morning.

I'm having difficulty translating a section of the text when we finally reach the forest. Tear and I become more cautious as we step through the trees. The trees and bushes are more places for monsters to hide, but it seems that Luke doesn't really realize this. I'm about to tell him to slow down and stay with us when he stops and growls.

"Jeez, you two are slow," he grumbles. I glare at him.

"There are plenty of places in this forest where monsters could be hiding. Don't go wandering off too far," Tear tells him. He scowls and turns, then begins walking again. We don't make it very far before he stops again.

"Huh? Hey, isn't that Ion?" he asks. I don't bother to look up before I nod. It's definitely the green-haired kid from yesterday.

Then danger flashes in my mind and I'm running forward before I even realize where the danger is coming from. I grab Ion and pull him back as three wolves jump out of the forest. Luke and Tear cry out in surprise, running ahead to protect the duo.

"Oh my… Thank you," I hear Ion say. I'm already drawing in fonons, hoping that I'm doing this right. My eyes are glued on my father's lexicon as I mouth the words describing the fonic arte I'm trying to use to myself. Then I notice that as I trail my finger along the lines of words, they start glowing.

As I approach the fonic verse, I note that all of the other words are now lit up. Hoping that I have done everything right, I start chanting quietly.

"O mighty explosion, Energy Blast!" I cry, raising my hand to help direct the fonons. I smile when the small fonic explosion kills one of the monsters, though it was already weak from Luke and Tear's attacks. I then start casting again, returning my eyes to the lexicon I'm holding just in case.

My second Energy Blast finishes the third wolf and I turn to look at Ion. "Are you alright?" I ask, unnecessarily. He smiles.

"I'm fine now. You're the girl who was sitting in the tree yesterday, aren't you?" he asks. Then he turns to Luke and Tear. "And you two were caught up in the thief situation, weren't you?"

"Yes, and yes. I'm Mithri," I tell him.

"I'm Luke," Luke adds. Ion smiles.

"Luke… that means 'light of the sacred flame' in Ancient Ispanian. That's a nice name," he says. I roll my eyes as Tear steps forward.

"I'm Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division, under Grand Maestro Mohs' command," she introduces herself. Ion's mind pulls up a temporary blank before it starts working again.

"Ah, you're Van's younger sister," he says, a comment that sends Luke's mind into a frenzy that actually hurts… Wow, look at that. The idiot is giving me a headache. "I've heard of you. This is the first time we've met, isn't it?"

"You're Master Van's sister?! Then what was with you trying to kill him?!" Luke yells at Tear. I sigh and open the lexicon back up with the intention of ignoring the rest of the conversation. It's slightly difficult, as Ion's thoughts keep going back and forth between wondering what Luke was talking about and what my opinion of all this was.

Finally, I spot something fluffy and colorful heading in our direction, and I stare at it. "Hey… what is that?" I ask, completely at loss of words for what it could possibly be. Neither Luke nor Tear hears me, but thankfully Ion is paying attention, and also notices the fluffy… thing.

"It's a cheagle," he says. Luke's attention is turned from Tear to the fluffy monster walking past a ways away.

"Come on! We're gonna catch that thing!" the redhead yells, taking off after it. I sigh.

"Yeah, if you don't scare it off," I mutter. Ion turns to Tear and says something, but I don't hear physically and don't pay attention mentally.

We've been walking for a while when Ion stops a moment to take a good look at me. "Have we met before?" he asks. I blink at him a few times before shaking my head 'no.' "Hmm… That's strange. I would have sworn you looked familiar. Do you have an older brother or sister maybe?" he wonders.

I shake my head 'no' again. "Just my mother and father," I tell him. Ion crosses his arms.

"What do they look like?" he asks. I'm curious, and yet, I'm not sure I want to know.

"Well, my mother is pretty tall and has dark brown hair and gold eyes with tanned skin… We look almost nothing alike, except for the one eye. But my father and I both have maroon hair, pale skin, and he has blue eyes… and he's vertically challenged, like me… So if it's any member of my family, then it would have to be him," I tell him. Ion is thoughtful for a moment before a crystal-clear picture comes to the forefront of his mind.

He doesn't even need to say anything before I freeze. His words barely register in my mind. I'm too busy trying to figure out _when_.

Because somehow, some time, Ion had met, talked to, and been protected by a man I longed to see again more than anything.

Arani Mythos Reighn… My father.

* * *

**Winx: So Ion has met Arani… Hmm… I wonder what this means for Mithri? Ah well. You'll find out later. Oh, and on another note… I've decided to switch back and forth between Mithri's POV and 3rd Person POV for the chapters. This chapter was Mithri, so next chapter it'll be 3rd Person. I really think it helps to get a feel for not only her thoughts and feelings as well as actual attitude, but also what other people see when they're around her. Anybody else agree?**

**(a few moments of awkward silence)**

**Winx: You guys are always so helpful… Please review… Please? It will seriously help motivate me more than Kairi's nagging will... Even if she's the one keeping me on schedule.**


	4. Chapter 4, Maeilyou

**Winx: Heh heh… I'm back! …a day late because Kairi had a really hectic day yesterday (apparently, between golf practice, driving her dad up to get his meds, and cooking, she didn't have a lot of time to get on a computer)… Anyways, I don't own TotA. Other stuff down at the bottom.**

* * *

_Cocks crow in the morn to tell us to rise,  
__And he who lies late will never be wise.  
__For early to bed and early to rise  
__Is the way to be healthy, wealthy and wise._

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind  
****Chapter Four  
****Maeilyou**

Ion can't help but watch in fascination as Mithri continues to cast her artes. In the span of a couple hours, which is how long it's taken the four of them to get this far into the forest, she's learned not only Energy Blast, but also Negative Gate and Limited.

Her fighting style reminds him so much of that man, Arani was his name? But every time he tries to talk to her about it, she clams up and refuses to even look at him, so he's given up on trying to get her to open up.

Finally, the group reaches a large tree, and Ion sighs. He knows that he's not going to get much else out of her for a while, so he decides to let his mind focus on the task at hand. He is about to suggest something when a small, pink cheagle falls out of the brush nearby, followed by a creature he has never seen before in his life, even in literature.

Mithri's eyes light up, however, and she lets out a small gasp as it looks up at her for a moment before ushering the little cheagle away, before Ion can get a good look at it. It had seemed to have a white body, though. "…a maeilyou?" he hears her whisper.

"What the heck is a 'mail you'?" Luke asks, turning to look at her. Mithri glares at him.

"May-eel-yoo," she says, emphasizing the second part. "Not mail you. And it's… well, it's hard to explain. I've never heard of one leaving the cloud kingdoms before."

"Cloud kingdoms?" Tear wonders. Mithri sighs.

"Maeilyou are extremely intelligent, to the point where they created their own kingdoms hidden above the clouds, although they're quite peaceful by nature," she explains. "That one definitely fit the description, but like I said earlier, I've never heard of one leaving those kingdoms." Ion thinks for a moment.

"Well, it was with a cheagle. This is probably their nesting area," he says. "I do hope we can find some proof they stole food from the village." Luke scoffs.

"Those stupid things probably left proof all over the place," he says. Mithri rolls her eyes as Ion suggests exploring.

They didn't make it far before Mithri found the apple half-hidden under the bush. "Hey…" she mutters, holding it out. Ion's eyes widen.

"That's the mark of Engeve!" he realizes. Luke smirks.

"So these guys did do it!" he cheers. Mithri holds up a hand, silencing everyone for a moment.

"I can… hear something. Inside that tree over there," she says, pointing to the large tree that is still a ways off. Ion nodds.

"Well, cheagles live inside tree trunks. That's probably what's in there," he says, walking over toward the tree. Mithri follows, ignoring the protests from Tear and Luke. The duo finds a hole in the bottom of the tree and enters.

A large number of cheagles awaits them as they step into the tree, as well as three maeilyou. Ion looks at the maeilyou in shock. "The one earlier was just a child," he realizes. Mithri is looking over the cheagles with the same fascination he is examining the maeilyou with.

Whereas the cheagles are brightly colored, in almost every color possible, the three maeilyou are white, though the older two had faint bits of color at the tips of their tails… er, tail… Ion isn't sure how to classify it, as one tail sprouted from their bodies before splitting into three about two-thirds of the way up. Except… one of the adults' tails only split into two…

"Two females and a male… likely a child and its parents," Mithri mutters when he points it out. Luke and Tear are standing behind them.

"So, females' tails spilt into three and males' split into two?" Tear asks. Mithri nods.

"Yes, and the coloration at the tips of their tail is an indication of which fonon answers them most easily," she added. "The male's tail is tipped in blue, so he uses the fourth fonon, while the mother's tail, which is violet, indicates that she's a first fonon user."

"Wait, those maeilyou things can use fonons?" Luke asks. Mithri rolls her eyes.

"Weren't we here about the cheagles?" she asks Ion, trying to change the subject.

Ion stands with a sigh and looks at the crowd of cheagles blocking the way and separating them from the maeilyou. "Please, let me through," he requests. The cheagles start mewing louder, and Luke rolls his eyes.

"Like the monsters are gonna understand you," he mumbled. Mithri clutches her lexicon to her chest as Ion speaks again.

"The Order's founder Yulia Jue made a pact with the cheagles and gained their aid… or so I've been told," he says. A purple cheagle in the back mews a bit and the crowd of cheagles finally parts.

"Are you of relation to Yulia Jue?" the cheagle asks.

"Whoa, that monster talked!" Luke cries in surprise. Mithri rolls her eyes at him.

"It is the power of the ring we were given as part of our pact with Yulia. Are you of relation to Yulia?" the cheagle repeats. Ion nods and steps forward, Mithri on his heels.

"Yes, I'm Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. Am I correct in assuming that you're the cheagle elder?" he asks. The cheagle nods.

"Indeed I am," it states. Luke finally steps forward.

"Hey, monster. You guys stole food from Engeve, right?" he demands. The elder's expression, or what little of it Ion can see past its fur, becomes grave.

"I see now. So you've come to exterminate us," it says. Luke crosses his arms.

"Humph. So you don't deny it," he mutters. But Ion looks confused.

"Cheagles are herbivores… Why would you need to steal human food? There's plenty of vegetation in this forest, so that can't be why," he asks. The elder sighs.

"We have to steal… to preserve the cheagle tribe," it says. "One of our members caused a fire in the Northern region. As a result, the ligers that lived there moved down to this forest. In order to prey on us."

"So you've been stealing the food so you're people wouldn't be eaten," Mithri mutters.

"Correct. If they aren't sent food periodically, we cheagles are captured and eaten," the elder confirms.

"That's horrible," Ion says quietly.

"And totally not our problem. If you're weak, you're food. That's how it works," Luke scoffs. "Besides, I'd be mad too if you torched my land. Oww!" he adds, clutching the back of his head. He glances off to the side and freezes when he notices Mithri prepared to swing her lexicon at his head… again.

"Luke, that may be true, but this is hardly a normal food chain," Ion says, attempting to diffuse the situation. Tear sighs.

"Well, we've confirmed that the thieves are cheagles. What do you want to do now?" she asks. Luke crosses his arms again.

"What else?" he grumbles. "We're gonna drag these guys down to Engeve and—"

"But if we do that, the ligers will likely attack Engeve next in search of food," she interrupts him. Luke huffs.

"I don't care what happens to that stupid village," he says, a comment that is rewarded by another swing of Mithri's lexicon.

"That is in no way acceptable! Food from farming villages like Engeve is shipped throughout the entire world, not just the village's country!" she scolds him as he massages another bump.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the redhead asks her, clearly annoyed. Mithri looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Why don't we try to negotiate with the ligers?" she suggests. Tear looks shocked and echoes part of her statement. Luke stands up tall again and stops rubbing the back of his head.

"Can those liger things talk too?" he asks. Mithri shrugs, but Ion is the one to answer.

"We can't talk to them directly, but if we were to take one of the cheagles with us as a translator…" he says, looking back over his shoulder to the elder. The purple cheagle comes forward.

"Then I shall lend this Sorcerer's Ring to the one who shall be your interpreter," it says before mewing some more. A small blue cheagle bounces up to the front. "This child is the one who caused the fire in the North," the elder explains. "I want you to take him with you."

The elder then attempts to slip the Sorcerer's Ring over the young cheagle's head. It bounces off, however, knocking both of the small creatures to the ground. The blue cheagle then steps into the ring and lifts it up around its belly. It looks up at the group for a moment before speaking.

"My name's Mieu. Pleased to meet you," it says. Luke groans.

"Something about this thing is really annoying…" he mutters. Mieu begins apologizing, and Mithri rolls her eyes.

"Um… Mieu? Why are those three maeilyou here?" she asks as the three white monsters catch her attention again. Mieu turns to look at them.

"Actually, none of us is sure," it tells her. Mithri sighs and begins to leave, but the adult female walks over. Standing on all fours, its head easily reaches her waist. Its ears however, reach to her chest. She looks at it curiously, noting its icy blue eyes. It flicks its tail a few times before using said appendage to usher its mate and child forward.

Mieu steps up and mews a few times, but the maeilyou ignore him. The male, Mithri notes, has silver eyes. The trio steps out of the tree, and Mithri shrugs before following them.

Mieu stops the group to show them something, but Mithri slips past and finds the maeilyou family again. She sits and watches them seemingly conversing something for a little while. Finally, as Luke, Tear, Ion, and Mieu catch up, the two adults nuzzle their child.

They are in full sight of the group a moment later when colored patterns appear on their backs, quickly turning into wings and allowing them to fly off. Mithri smiles at the sight, then frowns when she notices the young maeilyou still on the ground. Mieu approaches her again and starts mewing.

"It's alright Mieu. Your translating isn't necessary," she tells him, shocking everyone… except Mithri. She approaches the cat-like monster and examines its tail.

"I see… You specialize in the seventh fonon. I didn't notice earlier because the silver is so faint. I thought you hadn't matured to that point yet," she says a moment later. The maeilyou nods.

"Yes… Memma and Menno told me to stay here and assist you… not that I could fly home anyway," she says. "What are your names?"

"I'm Mithri. This is Ion, and Tear, and that's Luke," Mithri introduces them. Mieu bounces up, as the maeilyou is easily twice as tall as him… ears included for the cheagle, forgotten for the larger monster.

"And I'm Mieu!" he cheers, only to be scolded again by Luke.

"I'm Kurisutaru, but please call me Kuri…" the maeilyou says. Mithri nods.

"Kuri, got it," she mutters. "Well, why don't we head for the liger's den now?" she adds. Luke nods and starts walking.

"Kuri, why is that you can talk the human language?" Ion asks. Kuri looks up at Mithri, who is reading, hoping that the girl will answer. After a moment, Kuri sighs.

"Each maeilyou specializes in a single fonon. Those who specialize in the seventh fonon can speak other languages. I don't know why," she tells him. Then a small group of monsters attacks. Mithri immediately begins casting, while Kuri shifts into a defensive stance. Tear and Luke move forward to attack the monsters.

When Mithri sends a second Negative Gate towards one of the monsters, Kuri rushes forward, drawing in the leftover fonons before running over to another monster and clawing the ground, causing something quite similar to Stalagmite to come into existence. Mithri raises an eyebrow and starts casting Limited. Then, she casts it again.

Kuri uses the field of fonons to summon forth a Turbulence, which finishes the last monster of quickly. Then Ion steps forward with Mieu.

"I think I understand a little better now. Maeilyou can use fonons like we can, can't they?" he asks. Kuri nods.

"Yes. I'm still quite young, so I can't actually cast fonic artes, but I can draw in leftover fonons in fields of fonons and direct those for an arte, or something similar, at least," she answers. Mithri nods, but then starts walking again, causing Ion, Tear, and Kuri to realize that Luke has gone on ahead.

"Has that boy no patience?" the maeilyou mutters, following after the duo. Tear sighs, and the group gets moving again, until a river halts their progress once more. Mithri kneels to look into the water quietly.

"The liger's lair is up ahead, right?" Tear asks Mieu. The little blue cheagle bounces up and down as he replies.

"Yes! We cross the river and keep going!" he says. Luke crosses his arms.

"How are we supposed to cross the river when there's no bridge?" he wonders. Ion sighs.

"We'll just have to wade through the river," he says. Luke immediately starts whining.

"Are you serious? My shoes, my clothes… everything'll get drenched! No way!" he grumbles. Mithri rolls her eyes.

"Fine, stay here. If you care that much about your clothing, you'll just get in our way," she tells him, standing up. Luke turns to glare at her.

"Excuse me? !" Then he turns to look at the river and looks somewhat thoughtful. "Hey, Thing!" he says, addressing Mieu. Mithri, shocked at Luke's name for the cheagle, brings her father's lexicon down on his head… again…

"That's absolutely horrible!" she yells at him. "He already has to bear responsibility for the ligers moving into this forest, he doesn't need you belittling him too!"

Luke, Tear, Ion, Mieu, and Kuri stare at the maroon-haired girl in shock. Then Mithri looks across the river. "Hey, Mieu? You can breath fire, right?" she asks. The blue cheagle bounces up and down some more.

"Yep!" he cheers. Mithri points to a tree.

"Do so on that tree's roots," she orders. Mieu bounces forward and does as he's told, and the tree falls shortly after.

"That's what I was going to tell him to do…" Luke mutters. Mithri glares at him.

"I see. The tree's roots were rotten," Ion says "Excellent thinking, Mithri."

"Luke thought of it, not me," the girl in question replies quietly. "But Mieu is the one who deserves thanks."

"Fon Master Ion, shall we be on our way?" Tear asks as Luke continues to massage his now-thrice-beaten head.

"Oh, right," Ion says, snapping out of the daze from watching Mithri 'attack' Luke. He smiles at the redhead. "Cheer up Luke," he says happily. Then he crosses the makeshift bridge, happily joining Mithri and Tear on the other side.

* * *

**Winx: So… Kairi's working on a picture of the maeilyou family, but especially Kuri. And she's working on a picture of Mithri, because my drawing skills suck beyond words (the only pokémon I can draw semi-accurately is Ditto…). Big thanks to Cold-heart-Angel23 for the reviews! Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have a lot of work to do… Including a few hours of consulting time with Kairi, because there's a big battle scene coming up and they happen to be her specialty. So, I'll see everyone… um… -opens up a rather colorful calendar on Google Docs- …the twenty-fifth. Until then! –poofs-**


	5. Chapter 5, To Protect Them

**Winx: Hi! I'm back! Though I almost didn't make it. Anyway, this chapter ended up changing about halfway through, because I got an idea and after going through it with Kairi, we decided that it was a pretty good one. So, enjoy the chapter! All other stuff at the bottom again!**

* * *

Of all the gay birds that e'er I did see,  
The owl is the fairest by far to me,  
For all day long she sits in a tree,  
And when the night comes away flies she.

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind  
Chapter Five  
To Protect Them**

"Hey, Ion?"

Uh-oh. Here we go again.

"Yes, Luke?"

This isn't going to end well.

"How'd you learn strong moves like that arte you used earlier? Could I learn to do that, too?"

Why do I have a feeling…

"That was a Daathic Fonic Arte… You see, it's…"

…that I'm going to have to…

"Wait, wait, I don't need some long explanation."

Yup.

"Ow!"

"Interrupting people when they're trying to explain something is downright rude, especially if you asked them about what they're trying to explain," I inform the redhead I have just smacked with my father's lexicon for the umpteenth time. He glares at me for a moment before turning back to Ion.

"Is there some easy way to get stronger?" he asks. Tear rolls her eyes and mutters something, and Kuri seems to agree.

"Well, what type of capacity core do you use?" Ion inquires. I tilt my head to the side, lost.

"Capacity core? What's that?" Luke wonders. I'm curious too.

"You don't know?" Ion asks, a little shocked. Luke shakes his head, and I do too, though not as obviously.

"He's somewhat ignorant about the world," Tear adds. Luke huffs, but refrains from commenting, probably to avoid being smacked over the head again. Ion sighs and digs through one of his pockets.

"Here. Take these, you two," he says, pulling out a couple of objects. One is a necklace, the other is a bracelet. Ion hands Luke the necklace, leaving me with the bracelet, which I slip on carefully.

"Wait, why are you giving her a capacity core?" Luke asks. I roll my eyes.

"She didn't know what they were either," Ion replies. "At any rate you can think of them as accessories with fonic artes applied to them. Your bodies' abilities will increase in accordance with the fonic verse inscribed. These days, even regular citizens wear them as fashion accessories."

"So if I put this on, I can use that arte you used earlier?" Luke asks. Ion shakes his head.

"I'm sorry. Only Fon Masters or the Order of Lorelei can use Daathic Fonic Artes," he replies. Luke sighs.

"Oh," he mutters. I roll my eyes.

"That's why you don't interrupt people," I tell him.

"At any rate, with capacity cores equipped, you can learn special abilities," Tear adds. "Use them well, and you'll be strong enough." Luke slips the necklace over his head and pulls his hair out of the cord.

"How's it look?" he asks. Ion smiles and compliments him. "Cool. Now I can get stronger, too."

"At least your muscles will," I hear Tear mutter. I smile at the comment before looking down at Kuri.

"Shall we be going?" I ask the white, cat-like monster. She stands and nods, walking with me ahead of the rest of the group. I think we're both getting tired of the constant stops that involve Luke asking a question or complaining about something or another.

The monsters seem to be getting a little stronger as we walk along, but Kuri can fight without fonic artes it seems, though not much, as it tires her after a while. Luke, despite his inexperience and annoyingly stubborn and rude personality, not to mention his loud, whining thoughts, is invaluable for his sword, as Tear and I are both long-ranged fighters, and Kuri can't hold off all of the monsters on her own.

Finally, Mieu bounces out front and pulls a leafy branch to the side, revealing a hole leading into the ground. I ready myself for the confrontation I can feel coming. There are very intelligent thoughts coming from within this den, and I think I've marked one thread out as the queen's. At any rate, she seems to be very protective of something, and she's quite violent right now, more so that normal, if the other ligers' thoughts are anything to go by.

I have a feeling that this won't go as easily as we had hoped.

We step down into the hole, carefully walking along large tree roots and heading along what seems to be a path. A few ligers watch us from the shadows, but we've got Mieu with us, and it seems they believe he's bringing them food again.

Mieu leads us into a large cavernous area that's entirely underground, and we get out first glimpse of the queen.

"That must be the queen," Tear says.

"Holy, shit… she's bigger than Mathya," I mutter. Ion looks over at me curiously.

"You've seen a liger queen before?" he asks. I nod.

"There was a pack near my village. The ligers were given raw meat every month in return for not attacking us. Mathya wouldn't have let them though. She was saved by a human, and she refused to attack even one or let her pack attack a human," I explain.

"Whoa, wait. The queen?" Luke wonders. I roll my eyes and leave the explaining to Tear.

"Ligers live in packs formed around a giant female," she says. Ion looks down at Mieu.

"Mieu, please go talk with the liger queen," he requests. Mieu nervously agrees, and bounces out to the middle of the clearing to mew at the queen. I focus on the queen's thoughts, hoping that she won't be violent.

But, against my prayers, she stands and roars at Mieu. She's angry because we've come just before her eggs hatch. She still seems to be quite upset about Mieu burning their home. After Mieu relays that information, I sigh. Luke's tutors must have been extremely lax in his education.

"Eggs!? Ligers lay eggs!?" he asks. I roll my eyes.

"I was born from an egg too. A lot of monsters are born from eggs," Mieu replies.

"Though not maeilyou," Kuri adds quietly, only being heard by Tear and Ion. I only hear through their thoughts. Luke doesn't hear, however.

"This is bad though. Ligers are more violent when they're guarding their eggs," Tear says. I frown.

"So what, do we come back later?" Luke asks. I shake my head.

"But if the liger eggs hatch, the young will likely swarm the village in search of food," Ion says before I can.

"Liger young like human flesh because monster flesh is too strong. That's why we always sent fresh, raw meat to the ligers near our village," I add. Ion kneels to be closer to eye-level wit Mieu.

"Could you ask them to leave this land?" he inquires. Mieu nods and goes to talk to the queen again, and I look over at Kuri. Her thoughts tell me that she doesn't believe this will work. She comes over to me and we talk for just a moment. Then the liger queen roars again, and multiple boulders fall from the ceiling of the cavern. Luke draws his sword and slashes on away from Mieu.

"Th-thank you!" the little cheagle says. Luke looks over his shoulder.

"Don't get me wrong. I wasn't protecting you, I was protecting Mithri!" he lies. I roll my eyes, but in a far more playful manner than I have been.

"She said she's going to kill us and feed us to her children!" Mieu cries. I look down at Kuri and she runs forward, mewing to the liger queen herself. The queen seems cross with her too, but after a bit of arguing…

"Mieu, what are they talking about?" Ion asks. The cheagle turns to look up at the green-haired boy.

"Mieuuuuu… Kuri is trying to talk her Highness into coming with us to Engeve to get meat for her children, like what the ligers near Mithri's village did," he explains. "She doesn't trust us though."

Now, up until then, I had been inching around the outside edge of the cavern, trying to reach the queen's nest. Thankfully, she had been occupied with Kuri after she had stepped off of it with the intention of attacking us.

I reach the nest about the same time Mieu explains what Kuri is doing and carefully and quietly sit on the outer edge, looking down at the five eggs inside. If I focus on one long enough, I can hear half-formed thoughts. Two of them are quiet, as if they're also listening, two seem to want out of their eggs because they're hungry, and one… one really seems to want to help his… no, _her_ mother.

Hmm… she seems to be the only female. The other four are definitely male. I lean down, careful about how I move, and press and ear to one of the quiet eggs. I smile when I hear the heartbeat of the baby liger inside… But then I realize that the only other sounds come from the thoughts raging through everyone else's minds.

I look up at the liger queen, who is standing directly over me, and carefully remove myself from her nest, keeping my head down the whole way, though I never break eye contact. She looks over her eggs, then turns to Kuri and growls something. Her thoughts betray her question before Kuri translates.

"Why were you in her nest?"

I bite my lip and let a small blush come across my cheeks, as if I'm embarrassed about being caught. "I wanted to hear their heartbeats," I told them quietly. Kuri translated for the queen, who growled back to Kuri.

"Why would you want that?"

I shuffle my feet, still pretending to be anxious. "I used to visit Mathya on occasion… She had eggs one time. I could hear the baby ligers' heartbeats… It reminded me that there's always new life being born around us…" I say. The queen's thoughts are hard to follow. For some reason, there is a slight pounding on the edge of my mind, and it's starting to give me a headache.

The queen steps behind me and gently head-butts me forward, toward the nest. I look at her for a moment before I smile and step back in, lowering my head to one of the eggs again. A genuine smile breaks out across my face as the quiet wing-beat sound of the baby liger's heart reaches my ears.

Luke, Tear, Ion, and Mieu step forward slowly, cautious about approaching the liger queen and her nest. She growls at Luke, who still has his sword out.

"Luke, Tear, leave your weapons by the door," Kuri tells them before softly jumping into the huge nest next to me. She pads over to one of the eggs and presses an ear to it, and her thoughts are shocked as she, too, listens.

As the six of us sit around the nest with the liger queen watching our every move, I sway as the headache becomes almost unbearable. I push myself out of the nest, away from the eggs, and grab the wall for support. Everyone's eyes are on me, worried, but my mind hurts.

"Rishu?" I wonder out loud. "No, he should still be in Kelys… But so fast…" Someone's thoughts are moving too quickly for me to block them, and they hurt. They hurt so, so bad.

I sway, unable to stay upright any longer. The liger queen catches me on her back and lowers me to the ground gently while I cutch at my head and curl into a ball.

"What's going on?" I hear Luke ask.

"I don't know… I've never seen something like this happen to someone before," Ion tells him. I groan as the thoughts get closer.

"My head… my head…" I moan quietly. Then something catches my attention and I lock onto it momentarily, managing to push everything out. "The ligers! No, don't attack them!" I yell, trying to stand and stop whoever is right outside the den. I don't make it far before I lose my hold on his thoughts and they start streaming through my head again.

The liger queen demands to know what I've yelled, and she roars in rage once Kuri has translated, rushing out of the den to attack the newcomer. I lock onto her thoughts and her rage, and it drowns out the man's thoughts as I fight to catch my breath.

"Mithri, stay here. We need to stop whoever's attacking the ligers before the queen kills them," Tear orders me before taking off with Luke and Ion. I'm still locked onto the liger queen's thoughts as I stand and run after them. She's fighting the man now, and I don't know how much time I have left.

Tear, Luke, Mieu, and Ion have reached the battlefield and are yelling at the man to stop, but he's already casting again. "I who stand in the full light of the heavens command thee…" I hear through the liger queen. I push myself even faster, knowing just how deadly that arte is. "…who opens the gates of hell, pour forth divine lightning…"

"No!" I scream, throwing myself at the liger queen as I emerge from her den, trying to get her out of the way. But it's too late, she's already trapped in the fonic glyph. I jump onto her back, trying to protect her in some way, but she falls onto her side, knocking me off. She's trying to protect me just as I'm trying to protect her. I hear Tear, Luke, and Ion yelling at me to get out of the way, but they're too late too.

"Indignation!"

The liger queen and I scream as the arte hits us, even though she's trying to protect me. We fall to the ground afterwards. I'm whimpering from the pain, but I don't want the others to hear, so my mouth is completely closed. I can see the man running towards us, as well as Tear, and I feel her cast a healing arte on my.

I pull myself up and wrap an arm around the liger queen's neck. She's still alive, barely. Her thoughts are focused on me though, and she growls quietly. I listen to her thoughts and nod. Her heart gives out right not long after, and as her fonons separate, the man reaches me.

"What the hell were you thinking!? That arte could have killed you!" he yells at me. I spin around and glare at him, my own racing thoughts and anger drowning out his mind.

"We were trying to solve this peacefully! You're the one who came in here and killed her!" I yell back. The glaring contest that follows is only broken up by my shaky breath and the healing arte Tear sends my way. I finally stand and head back down into the den, ignoring everyone I pass, including Kuri.

I sit on the edge of the nest and listen to the thoughts of the ligers around me. Most of them are angry because that man killed their queen, but her last order, to stay hidden and survive, keeps them from coming out and attacking the group of humans that's coming down to where I am.

The eggs are silent, as if in shock. But I'm reading about a specific arte in my father's lexicon. That man will likely want to destroy the eggs, too, but I'm not going to let that happen. The queen asked me to protect them, and protect them I will.

I've figured out the arte by the time the group of humans reaches the cavern. They're cautious about entering, because they don't know where the other ligers are. I stand and step in front of the nest. "What do you want now?" I ask, aiming my question toward the tall man in front. His gaze is steady as he steps forward a little more.

"Ion told me what you were trying to do. But without the queen to control them, the rest of the pack and her eggs could easily wipe out Engeve entirely," he tells me. I settle into my casting position, one hand holding my lexicon open while the other hand hovers over it. The man freezes when the glyph forms around my feet.

"I'm not going to let you hurt them," I tell him, raising my arm to the ceiling. "Stoneskin!" What seems to be a barrier forms around the five eggs in the nest, protecting them.

"Jade is right, Mithri. Without the liger queen, we won't be able to negotiate with the pack," Ion says. Humph. So Jade is the murderer's name… I don't think I'll be forgetting it any time soon.

I'm already casting again, and Jade seems to be extremely cautious. "O twisted door of distortion open wide, Negative Gate!" I place the arte between Jade and Luke, because Jade is already moving in that direction. He runs right into it, and I run away from the nest slightly to keep an eye on the Stoneskin.

Ion runs between us. "Mithri, wait! We don't need to fight here!" he yells. I clutch my father's lexicon to my chest.

"He's going to kill the eggs, Ion!" I say, pushing tears back. "They haven't even hatched yet and he's going to kill them!"

"Then what do you suggest we do? If we let them hatch, they'll attack Engeve," Jade says. I glare at him.

"Their sister is on her way here. She'll take care of them," I tell him. "They won't hatch before then, so Engeve won't be attacked." He looks skeptical. "I learned a little bit of the ligers' language from Mathya," I say as a way of explanation, even though I had learned about the eggs' sister from the queen's thoughts. But so long as I wasn't actually lying, it wouldn't matter.

"It's still too dangerous," Jade insists. I glance at the eggs and see that the Stoneskin has worn off.

"I'm not going to let you hurt them," I repeat, settling into another casting stance. Jade sighs and settles into a casting stance of his own. I'm casting as quickly as I can, but I don't think I'll be able to escape this one.

"O unyielding protection of the earth, Stoneskin!" I chant as he finishes casting his own arte, Splash. It hits me directly, but the eggs are protected again, so when my mind opens up and is overwhelmed by his again, I can at least hold onto the knowledge that the eggs are alright for now.

* * *

**Winx: Uh, whoopsies on Jade's part. So… Mithri now has a support arte and three offensive artes, and she's unconscious because Jade's thoughts are so hard to listen to and she can't latch onto anyone at this point. And a little more of her back story… I think this is the longest chapter yet. Probably because of the peace-making scene… Oh, big thanks to ****Cold-heart-Angel23**** for reviewing again! Anyway, I don't own TotA. See you guys on September 2! –waves- Please don't forget to review! They make me smile all day!**


	6. Guardian Chronicles 1, Sakkaku

**Winx: Hi! I'm back! And with a very, very special update!**

**Kairi: And it was necessary to wake me up at five-thirty on a Sunday morning to beta them? –flops onto bed and promptly falls asleep-**

**Winx: -sighs- Anyway… As the 'them' in Kairi's sentence probably told you, I am, in fact, doing a double update to commemorate the first of the Guardian Chronicles. Now, what are the Guardian Chronicles, you ask? …Well, you'll just have to look down below. I don't own Tales of the Abyss, sadly, so go read!**

* * *

_Birds of a feather flock together,_

_And so will pigs and swine;_

_Rats and mice have their choice,_

_And so will I have mine._

**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Guardian Chronicles, I**

**(Sakkaku)**

"You're sending me to find an Anomaly?" I ask, still slightly confused. Kairi nods.

"Yup. You'll find her quickly enough, though," she tells me. I sigh and brush my bangs out of my face for a moment.

"And the world I'll find her on is Kelys?" I ask, making sure I've heard everything right. Kairi nods, and I sigh. "Alright. I'll leave in the morning," I tell her. She smiles and 'ports off to… somewhere. Off-world, though. She doesn't make that kind of popping noise if it's a short-range 'port.

I walk through the halls of Silas Citadel quietly, avoiding the people wandering around as much as I can. I don't want to deal with my sisters, and if one of them hears I was back here and didn't come talk to them, they will never leave me alone.

I reach my room without running into trouble, but trouble always seems to be lying in wait for me.

"Hana is not happy with you, Saku." I growl under my breath.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Saku? It sounds like a girl's name," I grumble. My sister shrugs, and I have to stop and wonder just how we could possibly be related.

Whereas my hair is slate-gray and streaked with a rusty shade of red, hers is a dark violet. Her skin is paper-white and she's going on 6'2" even without heels. On the other hand, I've always had tanned skin, and despite being 17 years old, I'm only 5'6". Hana found the happy medium between the two of us in skin tone and height, but her hair is a light brown.

Yes, you can tell that our mother slept around, can't you? The only similarity between the three of us can be found in our eyes. The almond shape and light, ice-blue color is the defining feature that marks us out as siblings.

"So… Where are you off to next?" Kori asks, breaking me out of my thoughts. I shrug.

"Just another mission," I reply, not really in the mood to explain it. Kori flips the end of her ponytail back over her shoulder.

"What kind of mission?" she wonders. I'm about to answer when two small, dark things fall out of the closet as I open it. My closet, I might add.

"Why are there nebula hatchlings in my closet?" I ask Kori. She shrugs and detaches the young dragons from each other. One has violet wings and the other has red.

"Hello Leo, Eleniel. Any particular reason you two were in there?" Kori asks them. They look a little ashamed.

We were hiding from Danno, I hear in my mind. Judging from the fact that the voice sounds feminine, I assume that it's Eleniel.

"Who's Danno?" I ask Kori. She rolls her eyes.

"Danno is the monster term for 'dad.' In their case, Orion. And their Memma, or 'mom,' is Aerwynes," she tells me. I shrug.

"You know there's only one dragon I really care about, and she was given to me before she hatched, so it's not like Sae'iri would know about that stuff," I tell her. Speaking of the swallowtail dragon…

What about me? I smile and walk up to my partner, running my hand along her gray-and-blue head.

"We were talking about parents," I tell her. She shifts her grip on the balcony so she can stretch her wings. "Hey, you get to come with me to this next world," I add. She wriggles happily.

Are we going home to Aberunn? she asks me. I chuckle.

"No, sadly. Kelys," I reply. She seems a little disappointed, but she holds her wings out in a rather human-like impression of someone holding their hands up in an 'oh well' gesture.

I wouldn't mind seeing Van again, she tells me. I smile.

"Well, why don't you do that while I'm looking for this Anomaly?" I suggest. Kori, who has moved out onto the balcony, leans against the wall to one side.

"You've been sent after an Anomaly?" she asks. I roll my eyes.

"Yes. Now will you and your annoying hatchlings get out of my room?" I grumble. Kori chuckles and bends down to pick the nebula siblings up.

"Alright, alright. But make sure to come talk to me when you get back, alright?" she agrees. I grumble an agreement and she closes the door, leaving me alone with Sae'iri.

It'll be nice to be with other dragons again. There aren't that many here, and most of them are nocturnal, she tells me. I sigh.

"Yeah… we need to get back to Aberunn one of these days. I actually miss Tim, Afeare, and Willa… and Mini and Robynn too. Crazy as they were," I say. "Well, I've got to pack. Wait for me for a moment?"

We actually get to fly together? she asks. I nod, and she wriggles happily again. I chuckle at her antics before returning to the task at hand.

Half an hour later, I pull a bag onto my back and slip a harness of sorts onto Sae'iri. After jumping onto her back, I give her the signal to take off, and she launches herself off the balcony and into the air. Her wings are slightly transparent, so when I look through them, I can see the outlines of the clouds we're flying over.

She sends me a telepathic warning before folding her wings and descending into a dive. We're going quite fast when she unfurls them, using the momentum to carry us even higher than we had been going before.

Sae'iri repeats this process a few times more before she deems us high enough for a Plunge. A Plunge is a dragon's way of passing through the barrier between worlds. She starts off the same way we've been diving, by folding in her wings and angling herself straight down. We pick up speed quickly, but then she opens her wings ever so slightly, in such a way as to cause us to begin spinning.

We pick up even more speed as we spin, and the world is simply a blur around us. Then I spot a few colors that don't belong. Red, orange, purple. And then there's blue, and green, and yellow, and white and black. We can't see Valoress anymore past the swirl of colors.

And then the colors are gone, and Sae'iri is pulling out of the dive. It's a little disorienting, because we had been spinning, but the cold moisture of clouds gets our attention on the important things almost immediately.

Sae'iri rises above the clouds, and glinting crystal catches my eye. I smile as we fly over one of the cloud kingdoms of Kelys, a few maeilyou darting out of our way, likely fearful that Sae'iri could be a wild dragon. The swallowtail laughs at the white, cat-like monsters.

A couple of Velis wave, but then a shadow passes over us, and Sae'iri calls out to the dragon and his rider. The rider is a boy with long, dark hair, named Devlin. His green eyes glint playfully as he and his dragon fly ahead of us.

Let's go, Sae'iri! I encourage my dragon telepathically. She couldn't have heard me otherwise. She happily flaps her wings harder, quickly catching up to the other dragon and rider pair. The other dragon is a male swallowtail. Unlike Sae'iri, whose colors are rather plain, being blue, gray, white, and black, the male is much brighter. His blue is slightly darker, and in place of gray and white, he is red and gold.

Van! I hear Sae'iri call out happily. I laugh as she and Van chase each other through the sky, each trying to outdo each other while Devlin and I simply focus on hanging on.

As the two dragons finally chose to descend from the sky, I smiled at Devlin. "Hey. Long time no see," I greet him, jumping from Sae'iri's back. As soon as the two of us are on the ground, the two swallowtails take off. "Geez. Impatient much?" I tease them, though they're already long gone. Devlin laughs.

"Well, what'd you expect? At this rate, those two are going to end up mating before you're even an adult!" he says. I roll my eyes.

"Technically, I hit adulthood the day I bonded to Sae'iri, so that argument is invalid," I tell him. Devlin mock-punches me.

"Yeah, yeah. You're still underage here," he says. I sigh.

"So… Any idea who called in the Anomaly?" I ask. Devlin frowns.

"I'm the only Watcher here. The last one got himself killed, and you know as well as I do that I spend most of my time in Downtown Royce or Neo Domino. Which means we're looking for a Tai-Guardian," he tells me. I cross my arms, because I have a feeling that I know what's coming next. "And half of them left with Heylii."

"Who's left?" I ask. He looks thoughtful for a long moment.

"Well, there's Narumi, but last I heard she was in Archadia. There's Axel, but he's got the amnesia problem and is in his home dimension until his memory is fixed. Sohnyae is with Cole on Archadia… I think the only people it could have would be Aeon or… um… what was that Ferines girl's name?" he muses.

"Er… wasn't it Shina or something?" I ask. Devlin nods.

"I think so. Then it was Shina or Aeon," he replies. "Well, either way, they'll probably be in the Kaingilv area. There's a Velis village north of there, a Ferines village hidden to the east, and the area is riddled with half-Fae from the settlement to the south. Not to mention the forest in the west is home to four different monster packs, including a liger pack."

"Sounds like a busy area," I say. Devlin nods.

"It is. Arani used to live outside of that town, actually. You remember him, don't you?" he says. Then he smacks his forehead. "Wait, never mind. You weren't recruited until _after_ he disappeared."

I roll my eyes. "Geez, Devlin. Make yourself sound like an idiot," I mutter. He chuckles.

"Don't I always?" he teases. I sigh.

"So, where is this mixing pot?" I ask, getting back on-topic. He gestures for me to follow him so I do. I've been a Guardian long enough to know that the job tends to entail a lot of walking. This is no exception. Devlin leads me through the woods, and I find myself thinking about the name of the town he's probably leading me to. "Hey, doesn't Kaingilv mean…"

"'Gilded Tree'? Yup. Apparently the forest is a beautiful sight in the mornings, when the sun is just peeking over the trees," Devlin says after I trail off. "It's Malveis."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that. I thought that Malveis wasn't very common on Kelys though…" I tell him. He shrugs.

"Apparently a lot of the Fae in these parts speak it quite fluently," he tells me. I sigh and decide not to ask about it much more.

The sun is falling past the horizon when we finally reach what appears to be a village. Everything is up in the trees, however, which tells me that this is the Velis village Devlin was talking about. He leads me through the trees to a staircase built around a large, central tree and we climb it.

"So, I hear you were on Auldrant recently," Devlin says. We've been walking in silence, so I think he's just trying to get me to talk. I nod.

"Yup. Had to go there for my initiation test," I tell him. He smirks.

"Did you have fun with the fonons?" he asks. I shrug.

"The strike artes were fun, the fonic artes… Not so much. I could have done without the fonons, really," I tell him. We're about halfway up at this point. A young Velis girl runs past about then, bumping into me accidentally.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir!" she says quickly. I smile.

"No, it's fine. I wasn't watching where I was going," I tell her. She smiles and runs off, into the forest. She's taller than me by a few inches, so I guess her to be about fifteen. Velis tend to be rather tall, you see.

Devlin leads me to the local in as the rain begins falling. I scowl at it and step into the building before I can get too wet. He pays for a room and leads me up to it before he points to the bed. "The town is south of here. I'll take you there tomorrow," he tells me. "That's your bed."

I roll my eyes at his direct way of speaking and flop down on the bed, falling asleep quickly.

When I wake the next morning, Devlin is still asleep. I roll my eyes and leave the inn after dressing and pulling my hair back up into its usual ponytail. I look up, and I'm not surprised to find Sae'iri resting in the branches above the inn.

Hello, Silver Mist, I greet her in Utheridian. She yawns and looks down at me.

Good morning… Feel like a ride? she asks. I shrug.

If you want to, I reply. She glides down the forest floor.

There's a clearing a little west of here. Van and I landed there and then walked here, she explains. Walk with me?

I jump down from the platform and land next to her, and we walk through the forest quietly. "It's been a while since I've called you by your full name," I say out loud in Standard, a language known as English on one world. Sae'iri laughs.

Sael Miri… It's quite pretty though. Not that Sae'iri isn't, she says.

Linare Soeri is definitely more of a mouthful than Sael Miri, a rather familiar voice says. I look up and smile at the silver dragon that is jumping through the trees. Silver dragons don't have wings and can't fly, but they are very fast and very agile.

"And why do you think Aeon calls you Lina'eri?" I tease her. She chuckles and leaps out of the tree to land next to me. "Linare Soeri… Utheridian for Lunar Song. And Vandesdelca… Ispanian for 'one who would seize glory.' Care to join us?" I ask the trees.

Van laughs and joins the three of us from where he had been following above. Devlin, it seems, is still asleep at the inn. Your observation skills are not to be laughed at, he states. I smile.

"No, not really. Though the rude awakening Devlin will receive if he's not awake by the time I get back will be something to laugh at," I reply. The three dragons laugh. "Hey, Lina'eri? Did Aeon send in the notice about the Anomaly?" I ask a moment later. The silver dragon nodded.

Yes. She's a half-Velis, half-Ferines girl, sixteen years of age. She lives with her father and older sister. Her teriques is a… oh, what's the Standard word…? Well, it's a Malesoren, she tells me. I raise my eyebrow at the Utheridian word.

"Her teriques has the ability to teleport her?" I ask, attempting to confirm what Lina'eri is trying to tell me. She nods. "That explains why they wanted me in here. If she sets it off accidentally, she could end up anywhere, and that's not just including this world. Which means she needs training… and I'm the only other person with Ferines blood that has a Malesoren teriques that the Guardians can call on at the moment. Not to mention the fact that I'm a skilled tracker," I muse out loud. "So, where is she now and what's her name?"

She disappears during the day, but she tends to hang out with a half-Fae, half-human girl once the half-blood's school day is over. She'll be heading that way later, Lina'eri explains. Her name is Lora Valeron.

* * *

**Winx: So, there it is. The first Guardian Chronicle… Originally, Kairi and Tony were going to write their own stories about their character's lives on Auldrant during their initiation tests, but then we figured it would take less time for them to let me borrow all of the Guardians and write short little chapters about them in this story. I'd call them lazy, but Tony's the only one I can really say that about, seeing as how Kairi has two active and very popular stories and she's re-writing two plus working on two more, whereas Tony has Bloody Nightshade and the Kingdom Hearts story he's pretty much scrapped at this point that I'm considering asking permission to take over… Well, and they've both got to work on Gifted again at some point. Wow, that was really long… Okay, so… Most of the characters that popped in here belong to Kairi, except for Lora, who is mine… Please leave a review, and stay tuned for the next one!**


	7. Chapter 6, My name is Mana!

**Winx: Oh, I forgot to mention this last chapter, but if you pay attention to the rhymes up above the chapter number and name, they repeat in a pattern, so if you can keep track of the rhymes, you'll know exactly when we'll have another Guardian Chronicle… (or you can just watch the chapter numbers, since I do it after ever fifth chapter) Anyway… Don't own. Read, and please leave a review!**

* * *

_A wise old owl sat in an oak,_

_The more he heard the less he spoke;_

_The less he spoke the more he heard._

_Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?_

**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Chapter Six**

**My Name is Mana!**

Jade takes a deep breath as he prepares to enter the cabin. That girl, Mithri, had they called her? He has a feeling she won't be too happy when she finds out where she is and why. Thinking back on it, he realizes that it may have been a poor choice on his part to separate her from the other four.

He sighs and opens the door, stepping in and finding that she seems to have moved from where he placed her on the bed to the floor, almost as if she had gotten up and tried to walk to the table in the middle before falling unconscious again. Jade steps over to her and checks her pulse.

"That can't be normal…" he mutters, noting the hummingbird-wing-beat speed of her heart. Then a rather welcome addition pops her head in.

"Hmm… Jade, why don't you go look for Ion and Anise? I'm sure Luke and Tear will be ready to listen now. I'll stay here with Mithri," she says, stepping over to him. Jade looks over the girl's blue hair and light-colored outfit and nods, leaving Mithri in her hands while he heads to find the Fon Master and his guard.

The duo in question is easy enough to find, and Jade's aid, Marco, joins them as they head toward the cabin Luke and Tear were placed in. Along the way, the blue-haired girl joins them with Mithri in tow. The maroon-haired girl refuses to look at Jade, choosing instead to ignore him.

"Mithri…" Ion mutters. She turns to look at him for a moment, but then turns away again and wraps her arms around herself… almost as if she's still clutching her lexicon. The green-haired boy sighs.

Jade stops in front of Mithri, forcing her to halt quickly, but he opens a door for them to enter. The blue-haired girl thanks the colonel as she passes, while her temporary companion ignores him.

Inside, Luke is pacing back and forth while Tear sits patiently. Mieu is standing on a chair, and Kuri and is curled up on top of the table, seemingly asleep. Mithri sits across from Mieu without a word, and the blue-haired girl stands behind her right shoulder.

Jade, Ion, and Anise stand along the wall, while Marco retreats into a corner. Luke glares at them, but takes a seat. Mithri's eyes are locked onto the maeilyou that is happily napping on the table.

"Well then, since we're all here…" Jade mutters. "The Seventh Fonon hyperresonance came from the direction of the capital of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and converged inside Malkuth territory near Tataroo Valley. Now, if you two were the source of that hyperresonance, that would make you guilty of illegally crossing the border into our country, wouldn't it?" he asks. Mithri rolls her eyes, indicating to Jade that while she is refusing to acknowledge his presence, she is actually listening.

"Jeez, you're obnoxious," Luke says. Anise giggles.

"Heh heh, he called you obnoxious," she repeats. Jade sighs, partly in exasperation, partly in acceptance.

"I'm terribly hurt," he lies. "But, moving on. Tear, we already know you're with the Oracle Knights. But what about you, Luke, Mithri? What are your full names?" he asks. Luke growls.

"Luke fon Fabre. I'm the Luke you idiots tried to kidnap," the redhead stated. Anise and Ion seem shocked, while Jade's expression remains neutral. Surprisingly, the bluenette's expression becomes one of curiosity, rather than shock.

"The son of Duke Fabre, who married into the Kimlascan royal family?" Jade inquires. Anise mutters something. "Why are you in Malkuth? And what's this about a kidnapping? That doesn't sound very pleasant," Jade wonders.

"We're here only because our Seventh Fonons caused a hyperresonance. It wasn't an act of aggression against Malkuth by House Fabre," Tear explains. Ion looks over at Jade.

"Colonel, I believe Tear is telling the truth. I don't feel any hostility from him," he states. Jade nods.

"Yes, it does seem he's lived a sheltered life, completely ignorant of the world outside," he replies. Luke huffs in annoyance.

"Humph. Fine, make fun of me," he grumbles. Ion sighs.

"Actually, why don't we ask for their help, Jade?" he inquires. Jade looks over at Mithri, who has her knees pulled up to her chest.

"Why don't you tell us who you are first?" he suggests. Mithri shoots a glare his direction for a moment, acknowledging his presence for the first time.

"You know, you haven't introduced yourself either," Luke grumbles to the girl standing behind Mithri. The blue-haired girl tilts her head to the side, then giggles and grins at the duo.

"My name's Mana Mewlin!" she says happily. Jade adjusts his glasses.

"Don't ask me where I picked her up, because to be quite frank, I don't know. She just appeared one day," he says. Mana seems to deflate a little.

"You say that like I'm a pet…" she mutters. Jade sighs.

"A useful pet," he corrects her. She rolls her eyes.

"Whatever… Your turn," she tells Mithri. The maroon-haired girl glares at the far wall and refuses to speak. Ion sighs.

"Mithri, your last name is Reighn, isn't it?" he asks. Mithri's eyes shoot to him… not shocked, exactly, but… it almost seems that she's daring him to talk about something. And there's something else in her eyes…

_'Could that be… longing?'_ Jade wonders. Ion seems to have noticed too.

"Arani Reighn was your father's name, wasn't it?" he asks Mithri. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

"Arani Mythos Reighn is, indeed, my father. My full name is Allura Mithri Reighn," she says. Jade raises an eyebrow.

"If Allura is your first name, then why do you go by Mithri?" he asks. The maroon-haired girl shoots another glare his direction.

"Because Allura means 'sweet lie'. My parents were stark opposites. My mother lied a lot, and my father never lied. Mithri is the female version of his name, Mythos, so prefer it," she says.

Jade looks thoughtful for a moment. "Where are your parents now?" he asks. Mithri hugs her legs to her chest.

"Father disappeared when I was seven, eight years ago now. But Mother… I doubt she's still where I left her. By now she'll be long gone. She did used to say that I was what held her down," she says quietly. Luke even looks a little sad.

"So your parents are still alive but are in no position to take care of you?" Jade inquires. Mithri nods. "In that case, would you mind helping us?" The maroon-haired girl glares at him again.

"I'll help, but don't expect me to get friendly with you," she hisses through clenched teeth. Jade nods, but Mana sighs.

"Oh well. I guess that'll do," she states. "We're headed for Kimlasca under orders from the Emperor of Malkuth," she tells the four. Tear looks shocked.

"To declare war?" she questions. Luke looks shocked too, now.

"Wait, what? Are you saying a war's gonna start!?" he cries. Anise and Mana roll their eyes.

"You've got it a little backwards, Luke," Mana says.

Anise nods and adds, "Yeah, we're trying to prevent a war from breaking out."

"Anise, Mana, that's not exactly public information," Jade tells the two. Mana shrugs.

"Trying to prevent a war…? Are relations between Kimlasca and Malkuth really that bad?" Luke wonders. Tear sighs.

"I think you're the only one who doesn't know," she states. Luke glares at her.

"You know, you're obnoxious too," he informs her.

Mana shoots a look at Jade. "We're going to release you now. I'll grant you permission to enter any area you wish, apart from those containing military secrets," he informs them. "First, learn a little about us. Then if you feel you can trust us, we'd like to ask your help, so that we might prevent this war."

Mithri rolls her eyes, an action that is seemingly out of place. And then Luke speaks. "If you want us to help you, why don't you just tell us what's going on?" he grumbles. Mithri looks up at the redhead, rather than continuing to try to stare a hole in the wall like she had been.

"Think about it, Luke. This matter is likely a state secret. If they were to explain and then you refused to cooperate, they would have to hold you captive to ensure that you didn't leak the information to an opposing party," she tells him. Luke looks shocked.

"What…!?" he cries.

"Mithri is correct in assuming that this matter is a state secret. I'm urging you to make up your mind first," Jade says. "I hope we have your understanding," he adds before leaving. Mithri stands quickly, and Jade's attention is on her.

"Wait! Where's my father's lexicon!?" she demands of him. Jade adjusts his glasses.

"I'll return it to you later, once I'm sure you've calmed down," he tells her. Mithri's already-angry gaze becomes a heated glare that makes Ion and Anise cringe.

"I want it back now," she states. Jade breaks away from her gaze and steps outside, closing the door behind him. He takes a deep breath, to steady himself, showing weakness where no one else can see it. That glare… For a moment, her left eye, the gold eye, had seemed to be the same light cerulean as the right eye.

He knows he had been imagining this part, but he would have sworn he had seen a faint blue glow around her as well that was more concentrated around her fists. _'What was that?'_ he wonders, walking along the hallway toward the stairs that led up to the deck.

Jade is lost in his thoughts when the door onto the deck opens for the third time, letting Luke, Anise, Tear, and Mieu out. Jade raises an eyebrow as he realizes that Mana and Mithri are missing. But, to be realistic, Mana probably forced Mithri to go get something to eat.

"Well, well, Luke. A lovely lady on each arm?" he says, trying to cover up his thought processes. Tear's cheeks turn red, while Anise grins and coos something.

"I…I'm not… We're not…" Tear stutters. Luke looks over at her half-heartedly.

"He's not talking about you. He must mean Anise and… um…" he trails off, looking around. "Where did the other three girls go?" he asks. Tear, Anise, and Mieu look around as well.

"Last time I checked, Mana and Mithri are two. Who was the third?" Jade asks. Luke crosses his arms.

"Kuri. She was pretending to sleep the whole time we were talking," he answers. Jade sighs and adjusts his glasses.

"Well, Mana may be a handful, but she does know the rules. I wouldn't worry about them too much," he says. "By the way, what's this about a 'kidnapping' you mentioned earlier?" he asks.

Luke scowls. "How should I know? You people from Malkuth are the ones who kidnapped me!" he grumbles. Jade sighs.

"…Well, I'm afraid I don't know anything about it. Did it happen during the previous Emperor's reign?" he asks. Luke crosses his arms.

"Humph. Beats me. Thanks to that, I lost all my childhood memories," he replies. Jade is silent for a moment.

_'_All_ of his memories? Could it be…?'_ he wonders silently. "I'm sure you have your grievances, but I do hope that we can obtain your cooperation," he tells Luke. The redhead rolls his eyes and walks over to Ion, but Tear hesitates. "Yes?"

"Oh, I was just trying to figure out where Mana and Mithri could have gone," she tells him. Jade shrugs.

"Like I said earlier, Mana probably took Mithri to get something to eat. Kuri likely went with them as well," he says. Tear nods, though neither she nor Anise looks convinced.

The two leave with Luke and Mieu shortly after, and Ion continues to stare out at the plains passing by. Jade sighs and decides to take his thoughts somewhere else.

That somewhere else ends up being his personal cabin. It's very neat and clean, just the way he left it. Except something's missing… He sighs and decides to try to figure it out later, as he doesn't need anything else added to his list of problems.

Jade doesn't make it far before his aid, Marco, approaches him, informing him that Luke and Tear are willing to cooperate. Marco also hands him a note, written in what seems to be meticulously neat handwriting, which Jade identifies as Mana's.

**_Colonel Jade-_**

**_ I took Mithri to the mess hall to get her something to eat. Go ahead and start without us, I'll fill her in on what's going on. She's already decided to cooperate. Oh, and Ku'aru and Alyna'aou are with us as well, so I wouldn't suggest looking for them, because you'll waste your time._**

**_ -Mana Mewlin_**

Jade sighs as he finishes reading the note and heads along toward the cabin Luke and Tear should be in. One of the names Mana had given him was unfamiliar, however, and it kept prodding the back of his conscious.

Jade steps into the cabin to find that, aside from Mana, Mithri and Kuri, everyone is here that had been here earlier. Then something clicks inside his mind.

"Are we waiting for Mithri and the others to get back?" Tear asks. Jade shakes his head.

"No, Mana with fill Mithri and Kuri in," he explains. "Although, might I ask what Kuri's full name is?"

Tear and Luke looked confused. "Um… I think it's Kurisutaru," Ion answers. Jade nods.

"That explains that," he mutters. The other occupants of the cabin gave him a strange look. "Mana has a strange way of shortening names. Rather than call Kurisutaru 'Kuri', as you all do, she referred to her as 'Ku'aru' in her note. Just as she calls Alynara Siminaou 'Alyna'aou'."

"Who's Alyna… um…" Mieu asks. Jade sighs.

"Alyna'aou. As for the answer to that question, I suggest asking Mana some time," he replies. "Ahem, at any rate, I believe you two agreed to help us?"

"Yes. We won't get anywhere if we don't," Tear says. Jade nods. He's about to begin talking when the door opens rather abruptly, allowing a small purple mass to fall into the cabin, followed by a rather annoyed looking maeilyou.

"Um… is that… a baby dragon…?" Tear asks, looking at the purple monster who is stretching out its wings carefully.

Yes, I'm a dragon. And no, Alynara does not mean 'annoying', the group heard in their heads as the purple monster turned to glare at Kuri. Mana poked her head in.

"Alyna'aou, Ku'aru, that's enough," she grumbles. Then, heaving an annoyed sigh, she picks up the purple dragon and turns to exit the cabin once again.

"Mithri's up on the deck reading. I already briefed her," she informs Jade. Then another puzzle piece slips into place and his eyes narrow.

"You let her into my cabin to get her lexicon, didn't you?" he asks. Mana holds out a silver straw. Mithri's straw, Jade notes.

"She wouldn't cooperate otherwise, but she wasn't too stubborn about letting this go," Mana tells him, her blue eyes apologetic. Jade sighs.

"Just so long as she isn't causing trouble," he mutters. Mana smiles.

"Don't worry. Alyna'aou, Ku'aru and I will keep an eye on her. Right, ladies?" she says happily. The young dragon in her arms chirps, but Kuri rolls her eyes.

"Start calling me Kuri and I might help with that," she mumbles. Mana looks down at the maeilyou, confused for a moment, before she sighs.

"Sorry. Old habits die hard," she apologizes. "Let's go, Kuri!"

Jade sighs as the trio leaves the cabin. "I'm really not quite sure what exactly to do with that girl," he admits. "Or her dragon, for that matter."


	8. Chapter 7, Attack

**Winx: Hey! I'm back!**

**Kairi: Thanks to me nagging her…**

**Winx: …Cállate.**

**Kairi: -leaves-**

**Winx: So… Here's chapter seven. Nice little plot twist in this one… ought to keep everyone on their toes. Oh, and Mithri is REALLY sarcastic in this one. Just warning you. So, I don't own Tales of the Abyss. Please leave a review at the end. Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_There was an old woman lived under the hill,_

_And if she's not gone she lives there still._

_Baked apples she sold, and cranberry pies,_

_And she's the old woman that never told lies._

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Chapter Seven**

**Under Attack**

I am reading up on an interesting but high-level arte called Bloody Howling when Mana runs up to me again. She's still got my straw, not that I really care. Kuri seems annoyed that Mana keeps calling her 'Ku'aru' though.

I sigh and my attention returns to my lexicon. I'm not to interested in whatever Mana and Kuri are doing now. Alyna'aou seems happy enough to simply lay down near me and sleep.

Interestingly enough, despite using telepathy to talk to people, she doesn't seem to realize that I'm telepathic. Probably a good thing though.

Mana and Kuri are chasing each other around now, playing something similar to tag… at least, I think that's what they're doing. Hard to tell, since I'm not paying attention to them.

I'm extremely absorbed in my lexicon when something does catch my attention, however. I look up and then turn around, so that I'm facing toward the front of the landship. There's a large black cloud heading toward us, and I've got a bad feeling about it.

"Mana," I mutter, enough that Alyna'aou can hear me and get the blue-haired girl's attention. When she and Kuri see the cloud, they become concerned as well.

"Those are griffins," Kuri informs us. Mana frowns.

"This isn't good. That's a really large group. Griffins don't normally work in groups… Guys, let's get back down below deck," she suggests. I nod and stand, but the griffins are closing in quickly… it would probably help if we weren't speeding right toward them. "Mithri, here, just in case," Mana adds, holding out my straw. I'm already reaching for it, but if she finds that odd, she neither speaks nor thinks of it. We're about to head back into the main hull when I stop and look out at the flock again.

"Kuri… What are those griffins carrying?" I ask, although it's already become clear to me, as their thoughts crash down on me. Kuri growls.

"Ligers and humans in metal," she says. I nod quickly and run into the landship.

"Much as I hate him, we need to tell the colonel," I say as I run, Mana, Kuri, and Alyna'aou on my heels. We don't make it far before we hear the Tartarus start firing. Shortly after, the landship rocks as more than a hundred ligers drop onto the hull, clinging to it and attacking anyone nearby.

As a group of Malkuth soldiers run past us, our group of four is split in two. Or rather, I am separated from the group. I know I can follow Mana's thought trail, but that damn colonel's thoughts are impossible to listen to, so I choose an alternate plan of action. What would that plan be? Oh look, a short maintenance ladder.

A few moments later, the ladder is laying in pieces on the ground, and I… am sitting in a rather large ventilation shaft. Hmm… not too uncomfortable either. And the vent's back in place… Let's just shimmy away from that opening a bit, shall we?

There's plenty of light to read by, so that's exactly what I do. By keeping track of Mana's and Luke's thoughts, I can follow their progress. The ligers know I'm up here now, but they've pretty much started ignoring me. They recognize my scent from the Cheagle Woods, and as I'm not fighting them, they are perfectly content to leave me in peace.

Luke's in shock, because the colonel just killed a man… Largo the Black Lion, did he say the large man's name was? I'm not too surprised. Luke doesn't know much about war, so it's not so bad. But, wait…

If you're going to kill him, then finish the job, dammit!

No, of course not. Just walk right along as if Largo isn't alive. Yes, because that's going to help you all out.

Mana runs up to them as they come out on the deck. Oh, so you're going to try to take back the Tartarus, are you? Good luck. I, on the other hand, am going to stay nice and safe up here in my vent. No point risking my life for a murderer.

They're going along the maintenance deck and taking out monsters as they go. They're attracting attention, too. Mostly from the ligers, because the colonel killed their queen, but there are a few griffins paying attention too now.

Tear's hymn knocks out a dozen or so guards, and because I'm actually listening to their thoughts, I almost fall asleep too. They leave Luke behind to guard the door. He thinks they're just trying to get him out of the way, but they do actually need him out there.

I'm half-reading my lexicon when I have to resist the urge to face-palm. Oh yes, hit the sleeping soldier with a fireball and try to wake him up, then kick him and actually wake him up. By all means, Luke, just let the poor Oracle Knight kill you and spare the rest of us of your idiocy.

Oh sure, stab him and mentally scar yourself for the rest of your life… Well, maybe I shouldn't be quite so sarcastic about that one. Taking another life definitely isn't fun… Though it's even less so when you can hear their last thoughts…

I clutch my father's lexicon tightly, holding onto the last bit of him that I have. I'm barely paying attention when Luke, Tear, Mana, Kuri, Mieu, and the colonel are arrested.

A moment later, my mind is drawn to Anise, who is fighting a large horde of Oracle Knights. One of them manages to knock her and her overstuffed doll out of a porthole, and I hear her scream 'I'll kill you bastards!'

I crack a smile at that one, but then return to reading. With my mind focused on my lexicon, the colonel's over-suppressive mind is drowned out, and the other minds are quieted, except for those walking along the hallway down below. A few Malkuth soldiers run through, but are killed quickly by ligers. They look up at my vent for a moment, then leave.

I'm working out a couple of newer artes when the image of my vent flashes across yet another mind, except this time, it's not that of a liger. I look out of the vent carefully and find myself staring down at a green head. For just a moment, I think that it's Ion, but it takes only that amount of time for me to ascertain that this is not the case.

The dead bodies in the hall have either been moved, or their fonons have separated. Either way, where there were four Malkuth soldiers, there are now two liger-identified God-Generals.

Wait, what's Luke doing here?

A quick inspection of his mind reveals that this second redhead is not, in fact Luke. He looks rather bored, and his thoughts are hard to understand, unlike Luke's.

"Hey, Asch, I think there's something up here," the green-haired boy says. Dang, his voice even sounds a bit like Ion's.

"Now what makes you thing that, Sync?" the Luke look-a-like asks, obviously uninterested. Sync points and an image appears in his mind, and I start to mentally berate myself before he even speaks.

"There's a silver bar or something up there that none of the other vents have," he explains. You see, my straw is laying on my left, right up near the vent. How very intelligent of me.

That has Asch's attention now. Not his full attention, but enough that I figure I'm screwed. "Now that you mention it…" he mutters. Sync looks around and picks up a piece of metal that was likely part of the ladder I had destroyed. He reaches up and manages to get it wedged between the bottom of the vent and the wall.

My heartbeat is speeding up with every second. Asch is standing a ways off to the left, which means I can escape to the right… that is, _if_ I can get over Sync's head without him catching me.

I adjust myself in the vent carefully and quietly, grabbing the nearest end of my straw with one hand while I clutch my lexicon with the other. I'm poised and ready for the jump when Sync finally manages to pry the vent's cover loose. He has one hand still in the vent as he drops the cover to the ground with the other, and I make my move then.

Sync's and Asch's minds pull up blanks as I jump out of the vent, but I botch the landing and almost hit the wall. A string of yelps comes out of my mouth as Sync and Asch both yell 'follow her!' and start chasing me as I run off. I'm running like hell, but Sync is gaining on me. I make a quick turn…

I start giggling as Sync looses his footing in a puddle of blood. Gory? Certainly. Worth it for the entertainment? Definitely.

I've taken a few turns to try to get Sync off my tail, but he's gaining on me again. I lost Asch a while ago.

I don't get much of a warning before the colonel's voice echoes over the loudspeaker. Then the lights all turn off. I scowl, but I don't have any problems seeing, thanks to my Fae blood. Unfortunately, Sync doesn't seem to be having too many problems either… Well, with the exceptions of those puddles of blood. That's the… what, third time he's slipped?

I want to giggle again, but I hold it back and vote for stealth rather that speed. I run around one corner, then stop running and go the other way. I'm maybe eight yards down that corridor when Sync runs past and heads in the direction I had gone for just a moment earlier. After turning down another corridor, I start running again, heading for the port-side hatch.

Thanks to Mana, I'm able to find my way around pretty easily. I finally make it up onto the deck, and let me tell you, it's bright. I blink a few times and head to the hatch, knowing that the group is already out there fighting another God-General. I register the presence of another human and a liger joining the battle before I finish climbing the stairs to the deck.

Sync caught on to my little trick, and he's after me again. I haven't got long, so I head out toward the hatch. But so much is going on…

There's someone way up above… he's about to jump. But Sync is…

RIGHT BEHIND ME!

I scream and jump out the hatch just as the guy grabs Ion and runs for it. Sync is on my ass like flies on honey, but I've still got one chance. The colonel is heading toward the pink-haired girl near the liger, but if I get in his way, then that's his problem. I don't want to die, dammit!

"HEEEELLLP MEEEEEE!" I scream to the liger, ducking behind it and grabbing on. It recognizes my scent in a moment, and just as Sync is about to strike, it opens its mouth and unleashes a blast of electric energy at him.

"We've got Ion, let's go!" I hear the colonel shout, pulling the others away. The blonde woman I had spotted a moment ago aims her guns at them, but they're already running, even though I hear Luke's panic cry.

"What about Mithri!?"

Don't worry, Luke. This liger won't let them hurt me. And, after a short conversation involving an angry question, scolding, curious questioning, sad confirmation, and a determined resolve, neither will the pink-haired girl.

"Get your damn pet out of the way, Arietta!" Sync shouts. Arietta glares at him.

"No! She was the one who protected my brothers and sister, and she tried to protect Mommy too!" she shouted back. Wait, 'Mommy'?

A short investigation reveals that she considers the liger queen to be her mother. Wait, so doesn't that mean that she's the sister I was supposed to be waiting for?

Stupid Jade.

"Ah hah hah hah hah! I couldn't agree more," a new, creepier voice says as its owner descends on a… floating chair? Then I realize that I had said that last statement out loud. Arietta looks over at me curiously.

"What does Jade have to do with anything?" she asks, sounding much younger than I think she actually is. I bit my lip.

"Jade killed the liger queen, nearly killed me along with it, and then when she told me to guard her eggs and wait for you, he tried to kill the eggs, and he about killed me again…" I tell her. Then I sense the need for a subject change. "They're alright, aren't they?" I ask. Arietta's thoughts immediately soften from the rage she had been in.

"Yes. Thank you for protecting them," she replies. Asch finally joins them, a scowl firmly plastered on his face.

"Largo will survive, but he'll be out of commission for a while," he informed the blonde woman. Then he noticed me. "Hey, didn't she come out of that air vent?" he asks Sync. The green-haired boy crosses his arms.

"I was trying to dispose of her, but Arietta and her monster are protecting her," he grumbles. The blonde woman is looking over me.

"It's probably best that you didn't kill her. That cloth is of a finer quality than most even in Grand Chokmah can afford. It's likely she's the daughter of one of the lesser Houses of Malkuth. If we had killed her, we very well may have sparked an unnecessary conflict with Malkuth," she states. Sync sighs.

"So what do you suggest we do with her? You heard that reject, he knew who she was. She could be helping them, Legretta," he says. When he says 'reject', his thoughts move to Luke, and I have to wonder why.

"My friends and I will take care of her," Arietta volunteers. Then she turns to me. "You won't cause us any trouble, right? I don't want to have to hurt you," she says. I clutch my lexicon to my chest.

"Don't take my lexicon, and I'll cooperate happily," I inform her. I hold out my straw. "Here, you can even have this," I add. Arietta looks at Legretta, who thinks for a moment before nodding. Arietta takes the straw and slips it into her bag.

"Alright. Stay with me then, okay?" she asks. I nod, still clinging to my lexicon. Legretta sighs and looks up at the Tartarus.

"Arietta, you head back to the bridge. Don't let that girl out of your sight, understand? The rest of us will work on reviving the Tartarus," she orders. Arietta nods and climbs up onto her liger friend, then looks down at me. I carefully hop on behind her, and the liger takes off.


	9. Chapter 8, Moments of Almost-Peace

**Winx: Okay, so… First off, I apologize for not updating since… um… whenever my last update was (over a month ago, possibly two). I was busy, and Mithri and I were having trouble writing this chapter… until Kairi's character Din showed up and helped us out. And then… this was born. I don't really like how it turned out, but there's a scene I've got written in a notebook that I really couldn't do in third person POV, so I had to wait to do it. However, I did manage to introduce Solace.**

**So, on a totally different note… There's a poll up on my profile... I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but oh well. It's there and it's feeling lonely. But, I don't own Tales of the Abyss, but you're welcome to enjoy this chapter! And please remember to leave a review at the end!**

* * *

_for every evil under the sun  
__there is a remedy, or there is none  
__if there be one, try to find it  
__if there be none, never mind it_

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind**

**Chapter Eight**

**Moments of Almost-Peace**

Jade sighs again. They're sitting around a camp fire after the events of the day, and Luke has brought up Mithri again. The colonel looks around the group, noting each of their reactions. Guy, quite predictably, doesn't seem to be too bothered. Tear, Mana, Mieu, Kuri, and Alyna'aou, on the other hand…

"I still don't see why we had to leave her behind," Luke whines. Tear sighs.

"I'm not sure if she knew what she was doing or not, but she obviously felt that the brewing war was a greater priority than her own safety," she states. Then she looks to Jade. "You don't seem too concerned about her, colonel."

Jade glances at Tear for a moment before adjusting his glasses. "The clothing she was wearing was of the same quality as Luke's. If Luke is the son of a Duke, then it's quite likely the God-Generals will assume that Mithri is also the child of nobility, unless she tells them otherwise. They'll likely let her live, rather than risk sparking a war between Malkuth and the Order," he tells them.

Guy raises an eyebrow. "But… she isn't actually from a Malkuthian noble family, is she?" he asks. "Won't they figure that out?" Jade smirks and looks at Mana.

"Unlikely. A lot of lower Houses keep the 'strange' children hidden. With the way Mithri acts…" she says.

"If the God-Generals don't assume that she is of noble blood, then I'd be genuinely surprised," Jade adds. Luke sighs.

"I hope you two are right," he mutters.

Meanwhile, Mithri is reading… again.

"Do you ever put that book down?" Arietta asks her as the two settle into the God-General's cabin for the night. Mithri clutches the lexicon to her chest.

"No. It's all I have left of my father. I don't want to lose it, ever," she tells the pinkette. Arietta nods, seemingly understanding. The two don't say much else. It's been a long day, spent trying to revive the Tartarus.

They fall asleep shortly, Arietta in one bed, Mithri in another, and two ligers on the floor.

The next morning, Mithri rises early, ahead of the sun. Arietta joins her not long after, and the ligers wake as well. The four of them head to the mess hall, intending to get some food. Mithri clutches her lexicon to her chest the whole way, and refuses to let go of it even while they are eating.

They head up to the deck, only to find Legretta, Dist, Largo, Asch, and Sync standing in a defensive semi-circle around something, or rather, someone.

Mithri stares at the man in shock. His gold eyes are half-hidden behind wild orange bangs, and blue streaks through the rest of his messy orange hair. But what catches her attention the most is that she cannot hear his thoughts.

"Who are you?" Sync asks, breaking the silence. The man tilts his head to the side.

"Din," he answers plainly. Mithri stands to the side with one of the ligers while Arietta walks forward with the other.

"_What_ are you?" she asks after speaking with her liger for a moment. The man looks at her, but does not answer. Legretta puts a hand on her hip.

"She asked you a question," she states. Din looks at her, then back at Arietta.

"I'm afraid my programming won't allow me to answer that question," he tells her. Everyone—aside from Dist and Mithri—looks at the man in confusion.

"Programming? Are you some kind of robot?" Sync asks. Din shrugs.

"Hell if I know _exactly_ what I am. I don't even know how I got here," he replies. The group sighs in frustration. Mithri then walks over.

"Dolfenes tan alsere vo Kelys?" she asks quietly. Din looks at her in surprise, then shakes his head and replies in the strange language. The God-Generals stare at Mithri in shock and suspicion, trying to figure out what she's talking about. After a while, however, Asch loses his patience.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" he asks. Mithri turns and smiles.

"He's not from around here," she says simply. Legretta resists the urge to face-palm.

"We figured that much out," she mutters. Din says something else in the strange language and Mithri replies. The only part any of them can understand is when Din says 'St. Binah' and Mithri repeats it. A moment later, she turns to the group again.

"He's supposed to be meeting his brother in St. Binah," she tells them. Largo crosses his arms.

"We're headed for St. Binah… we might as well take him with us. He's already on board," he says. Legretta sighs, then pulls him and the other God-Generals away to talk for a few moments. When they return, it seems that their minds are made up.

"Alright, Din. You can come with us to St. Binah," Legretta says. Din smiles and says 'thank you.' Legretta then begins giving out orders. Since Arietta has something that needs to be done, she puts Sync in charge of Mithri and Din. The liger that had followed Mithri from Arietta's cabin doesn't leave her side as the trio heads for the observation deck.

Sync leans against the wall, bored out of his mind, while Mithri and Din sit against the railing. Mithri looks up at Din and starts talking again, still in the language they had spoken in earlier.

"So, if you're not from Kelys, where are you from?" she asks. Din shrugs.

"I don't know. Zale moves around a lot, so I never really figured out exactly where each of our 'homes' was," he replies. Mithri opens her lexicon as she speaks again.

"Who's Zale?" she wonders. Din chuckles.

"Our maker. Why do you ask so many questions, anyway?" he replies. Mithri frowns.

"I guess it's because you're an AI, but… I can't hear your thoughts. I can't learn anything about you that way, so I'm reduced to actually having to ask," she tells him. "It's a strange feeling, really."

Din rests his arms on his knees and sighs. "New feelings have a tendency to scare people, and yet you… you seem… fascinated by this," he says, thinking out loud. Mithri rolls her eyes.

"Of course I'm fascinated. I'm sick of actually listening to everyone's thoughts all the time," she replies. Din laughs, then looks at the lexicon in her hands.

"You didn't write all of that, did you?" he asks. Mithri shakes her head.

"No, my father did. But it's been very helpful," she replies. Din smiles.

"I imagine," he says. The two sit in silence for a while, while Mithri reads. Din plays around with a length of string, knotting it, unknotting it, and doing it all over again.

"Mithri? Have you ever seen a blue-haired man with gold eyes that goes by the name of Odin Kessler?" he asks, still in the other language. Mithri frowns.

"No, I don't think so. Why?" she replies. Din shrugs, but it's obvious that he doesn't want to talk about it any more than he already has. Mithri sighs and returns to reading. Din continues to fiddle around with the string for a while before he stops, stares at it for a moment, and then rips it into two pieces. He ties them together at the top and starts braiding them together.

Slowly, the morning wears on, and one-by-one, the God-Generals take turns watching Din and Mithri. Arietta and Mithri talk about the ligers once she's finished with what Legretta assigned her to do, and Mithri slowly learns a bit more of their language. She tells Arietta about Mathya and her pack, and the two wonder about what the liger queen is doing now.

As afternoon approaches, Arietta takes Mithri and Din off the Tartarus on ligers, after getting permission from Legretta, who tells them not to take long, as they'll be reaching St. Binah shortly. The trio heads for the forest, where they stop for a while.

"Mithri, is something wrong?" Din asks after they've been sitting for a few moments. She's been reading, but her face is slightly scrunched up, like she's in pain. A determined look crosses through her eyes for a moment before she closes them, but then she gasps and collapses. "Mithri!" Din and Arietta cry, running over to her.

A short while later, she starts to sit up again. She holds her head and mutters something in a language neither Arietta nor Din knows. Then she looks over at them and apologizes.

Arietta sighs. "Come on. We're supposed to be meeting Legretta outside St. Binah soon," she says. Mithri nods, and the trio gets up onto the ligers and goes. The maroon-haired girl is distracted, but Arietta and Din seem happy enough to leave her alone.

They leave the ligers in the forest outside the town and head past the Oracle Knights that are guarding the gates. Mithri and Arietta buy their lunches, and offer to buy lunch for Din, but he declines. They're heading toward the Soil Tree when a boy with blue and green hair runs over. He looks similar to Din, even though the only similar trait they have at first glance is their blue hair, which is a different color near the tips.

Din smiles, and the boy runs into his arms. "Din! Where were you? Zale was worried! I thought we were gonna leave without you," the boy cries happily. Din laughs.

"Oh, _Zale_ was worried?" he teases. The boy scowls as Din ruffles his hair.

"Hey, stop that!" he grumbles. Din laughs and hugs the boy again.

"Eh, it's good to see you again, Solace," he tells him. Then he looks over at the two girls and smiled. "Girls, this is my little brother, Solace. Sol, these ladies are Arietta and Mithri," he introduces them. Solace and Mithri shake hands before Mithri flinches and holds her head again. Arietta looks at her concernedly.

"Are you alright?" she asks. Mithri shrugs.

"I'm fine," she tells them. Arietta doesn't seem to agree, but Din sighs.

"Well, if you insist," he mutters. Solace bites his lip.

"Um, I'd love to stay and chat, but Din and I have to get going," he informs them. Arietta nods.

"Alright. I hope I can talk to you again," she says. The brothers nod and leave. She then looks over at Mithri, whose face has gone extremely pale. "Mithri? Can you make it back to the ligers with me?" she asks. The younger girl nods, and Arietta leads her out of St. Binah carefully.

The ligers are waiting for them when they arrive, and Mithri almost immediately gets up on one and passes out in such a way that she remains on its back. Arietta growls at one of the ligers. "Can you figure out what's wrong with her?" she asks. The liger shakes its head 'no'.

"Whatever ails her, it is not bodily," it replies. Arietta gazes at Mithri sadly.

"I'll figure out what's wrong and help her. We owe her that much," she decides. The group walks out of the forest and starts down the road toward the Tartarus. They're silent most of the way, although a couple of the ligers ask Arietta if she wants to ride once or twice. She declines both times.

More than halfway to where she had left the Tartarus, Arietta meets up with the other God-Generals, with the exception of Asch. Sighing, Arietta turns and joins them. She'd rather continue walking along with a group than deal with Asch alone.

* * *

Luke sighs. "Didn't Mana say she'd be back quickly?" he asks, frustrated. Jade adjusts his glasses and shrugs.

"I'm afraid that when Mana says 'quickly', it tends to take her a while," he informs the group. "Conversely, if she says she may be a while, she's usually the first one to wherever the meeting place may be. It's one her little quirks that… well… you just get used to."

Guy gives him an odd look. "Sometimes, I can't figure out if you see her as friend, a sibling, or a pet," he mutters. The blue-haired girl in question laughs and bounces over, careful not to land too close to Guy.

"How about D, all of the above?" she suggests. Jade sighs.

"I would have said C," he replies. Were Mana a cartoon, you would be able to watch her deflating at that statement…

Luke crosses his arms. "Why do I have a feeling that we've had this conversation before?" he asks. Kuri walks up behind Mana and sits.

"Oh, we have. Three times now," she informs him. Jade gives her an odd look, and she expands on that. "The first time was on board the Tartarus, the second time was when Jade introduced her to Guy, the this would be the third time."

"Except I don't think I was part of the conversation the second time," Guy mentions. Kuri flicks her tail in a gesture that the others are starting to see as a shrug.

The group moves toward the entrance of the city, wondering if the Oracle Knights have left yet. They haven't, resulting in the group having to hide. They're close enough to the entrance that they get to see something interesting, at least.

Four of the Six God-Generals are standing outside the gates. Arietta is standing next to two ligers, one of whom has an unconscious Mithri on its back. What catches their attention most, however, is Largo, who is standing slightly to the side.

"Damn. Largo survived," Jade mutters. Mana holds her hand up to silence him, and they listen intently to the Oracle Knights.

"They haven't passed through here, sir," one of the soldiers is saying to Sync. The green-haired boy scowls under his mask.

"What about that Fon Master Guardian they said was hanging around?" he asks.

"The Malkuth military is claiming it's confidential and they are refusing to tell us anything," the soldier answers. Legretta sighs.

"What do we do now, Sync?" she asks. Sync is silent for a moment before he looks over at Arietta, who is more preoccupied with Mithri at the moment anyway.

"If we stay here and antagonize the Malkuth military, it could spark a diplomatic conflict," he muses aloud. Largo growls.

"If I hadn't let that Necromancer get the better of me, Anise never would have gotten away," he grumbles. Arietta turns at the mention of Anise's name, or maybe it had been the word 'necromancer'. Regardless, she doesn't look happy.

"Jade killed Mommy. Mithri told me, and my liger friends confirmed it," she says.

Dist's familiarly creepy laugh reaches them as he and his hovering chair float over. "That's why I told you. The only one who can defeat that beastly Jade is the eloquent servant of the gods, yours truly, Dist the Rose!" he states.

"Isn't that supposed to be Dist the Reaper?" an extremely muffled voice asks.

"Mithri! Are you okay?" Arietta cries, running over to the girl immediately. Mithri groans.

"Ask me that again once this migraine's gone," she mumbles.

Dist, however, is not happy. "Arg! It's Rose, you! How is one so beautiful as myself a Reaper and not a Rose?" he rants. Mithri sits up enough so that she isn't mumbling into the liger's fur.

"Maybe because you like to reap whatever benefit you can from wherever you think you can find it? And then you're pretty much no help unless it's for your own purposes?" she asks. Though it's quiet, Mana still manages to catch it all, but just barely.

Dist starts throwing another fit before Mithri wobbles a little. She lays back down so that she doesn't fall off the liger while Sync starts talking again, ignoring Dist altogether.

"Your wounds still haven't healed. The Necromancer almost killed you. Why don't you take a break?" he suggests to Largo. "In the meantime, we need to come up with a plan to catch them at Kaitzur. With the bridge out, that's the only way back to Kimlasca."

"We can do the planning on board the Tartarus," Legretta says, looking pointedly at Mithri, who is either asleep or unconscious again. Sync nods.

"Withdraw the troops from St. Binah and Engeve," he orders. Largo nods and repeats the orders, and the group leaves, taking the soldiers with them.

Meanwhile, Mana returns to the group and relays everything she's heard.

"But, why would Mithri be with them? Unless…" Ion starts. Mana frowns.

"No. I don't think she would switch sides that suddenly. It's probably due to Arietta," she states. Jade looks at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asks. Mana bites her lip.

"Well, Arietta was raised by ligers… and you did kinda kill her mother, so…" she says. Ion looks shocked.

"The liger queen in the forest was Arietta's mother?" he asks. Mana nods.

"Apparently. Arietta said something about Jade killing her mother, and she seems really protective of Mithri. After all she did to try and protect the liger eggs…" she trails off. Ion nods.

"I get it. Arietta won't let the other God-Generals hurt Mithri because she defended her siblings," he finishes. Luke, Guy, and Tear, however, look utterly lost, and Mana sighs.

"You know. It might be a good idea to explain this completely," she states. Ion nods.

"Yes. We might as well stay the night. Besides, I'm not feeling too well," he adds. Luke sighs.

"Yeah, you do look kinda pale again. Let's head to the inn," he concedes. As the group walks off, though, he stops and wonders for a moment.

_Where does Mithri really stand in all of this?_


	10. Chapter 9, Nightmares

**Winx: I apologize, I'm putting this chapter up when I should be posting 10... Unfortunately, I had absolutely no inspiration for this. And then Kairi found the plot bunny this came from and gave it back to me this morning. So, expect chapter 10 some time between now and December 15th, which is when I will (hopefully) be posting chapter 11... In the meantime, read and enjoy!**

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_Cocks crow in the morn to tell us to rise,  
__And he who lies late will never be wise.  
__For early to bed and early to rise  
__Is the way to be healthy, wealthy and wise._

* * *

**Boundaries of the Mind  
****Chapter Nine  
Nightmares  
**

_Fire. Raging around me, raging around all of us._

_Us?_

_Oh yes, definitely us. I don't know how I know that, but I do._

_Terror races through me, faster than the fire. Running, falling, pushing myself up to start running again. Flashes of green, and screams. My screams, their screams. Pain, fire, too much fire._

_Run._

_Trying to escape the fire. Why is there so much fire? Why? And why does it hurt so much? It needs to stop! Just stop!_

_I fall to the ground and roll a ways. The fire lessens, but once I've stopped rolling it gets worse._

_No! Keep rolling! It flashes through my mind so fast I'm shocked._

_Thinking for myself? This is new…_

_I roll, and keep rolling, until the fire is gone completely. I look around. Rock, stone, liquid fire moving below me. And green. Green in my eyes, in my way, and flashes of green and screams from where I was. I turn._

_Run!_

_I run. The rocks hurt my bare feet, but it's nothing. Nothing compared to the fire. I have to get away from it, away from that fire._

_Then, slipping. A scream escapes my lips as I tumble toward the fire._

Wait… that didn't sound right…

_Another scream as my body falls into the liquid fire again, but I'm not giving up. Not yet. I'm scrambling, trying to get out of the fire. It burns!_

Wait… this isn't me…

_I pull myself out of the fire and start rolling again. It helps a little, but not much. Not at this point._

This isn't my body…

_I lay against the rocks, too hurt to move. The fire did its damage… for now at least. I'll move again later, when I'm not so sore…_

I've never seen this much fire…

_Blackness comes over me for a while…_

Foresight is Maeve's curse, so why…?

"_Well, well. One of you survived."_

_I gasp and open my eyes, then start running. No, no! He can't catch me! He'll kill me! I don't want to die!_

And then I pull myself out of someone else's nightmare. I simply lay there, thinking for a while. I can trace the nightmare back to its source easily… well, so to speak. I haven't figured out whose nightmare it is exactly, but I do know where it's coming from.

I look over at Arietta and smile. She's still fast asleep. Which means that I can go and check on the guy having that awful, painful nightmare.

That makes me stop and wonder for a moment as I pull my boots on. The only other part of my outfit that I'm wearing is the blue dress, but that's become normal for sleeping.

I have been on the Tartarus for almost four weeks now. We are heading for Baticul, probably in a final attempt to stop the peace treaty going through. It's been a long process, but slowly, the other God-Generals are starting to trust me. Well, not Asch, but Asch doesn't trust anyone.

And then there's Sync. That's the only thought that crosses my mind as I arrive outside his cabin. I'm mildly surprised to find that the mysterious but annoying youngest God-General is the source of the nightmares. I sigh and raise my hand, then decide against knocking.

He's deep in the nightmare, deep enough that I'll wake deep-sleeping Arietta on the other end of the hall before I can wake him. I sigh and try the doorknob, hoping the door isn't locked.

It isn't, and I step inside, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Sync's temper can easily rival Asch's on a good day, and with a nightmare like this one involved…

I look over at the sorry excuse for a bed and gasp. "Ion?" I breathe. Sync's nightmare takes a different tone as he catches my voice. His mind hooks up on the name I barely said, and the next thing I know, he's shooting up in bed and glaring at me, mask already halfway in place.

He drags me to the nearest chair and forces me to sit, before walking over to the door and closing it completely. He turns to glare at me, and I cringe. "What did you think you were doing in here?" he asks.

My mind fumbles to find a half-truth that he will believe. I can't lie, my Fae blood prevents that. But if I could just…

"What are you doing in here!?" he asks as quietly as he can while still coming across as screaming. I flinch.

"I… I…" I stutter. Then I catch onto a trail of thought and hope it will suffice for him. "I couldn't sleep. I took a walk and… and… you… I thought…" Ugh! I have got to come up with a good way to phrase this that my Fae blood won't reject!

It's the rare few times like these when I actually _don't_ like my dad.

"You thought you could get close to us and then kill us, didn't you?" Sync asks accusingly. I stare up at him in shock.

"Wh-what? No! I… I thought you were having a nightmare," I tell him. I still look startled on the outside, but inside, I'm grinning, simply happy that I found something.

That doesn't seem to sit well with Sync, though. "Uh-huh. And what made you think that?" he asks. I think back to his nightmare.

"You smacked something, and I stopped in front of your door. I… It sounded like you were trying to cry out, but kept getting choked up," I tell him. He still doesn't seem to believe me, but his thoughts are going back to his nightmare. "Fire!" I spit out quietly and almost sub-consciously as he remembers slipping on the rock path and falling into what I can only assume is magma.

And then I allow myself a miniature heart attack as Sync, who had walked over to the wall, rounds on me. "How did you know there was fire involved!?" he asked, loud enough to wake Legretta in the next cabin over. My self-preservation kicks in and I glare at him and raise a finger to my lips.

"Shh! You'll wake everyone!" I tell him in whisper-yell. He seems even angrier now, and I decide that now would be an excellent time to play clam.

Aside from me occasionally reminding Sync to keep his voice down, the next half hour passes with Sync repeatedly asking me questions, or rather, one question, simply phrased in many ways. I refuse to respond to any of them, which angers him more, causing him to raise his voice, and by the time that half hour is up, I'm ready to just give up trying to get him to keep his voice down.

I sigh as he punches the wall. His gloves muffle part of the sound, and it's not like he hit it all that hard, but it's still loud enough to wake Largo.

I resist the urge to smile as he sighs and rolls over, writing the noise off as Sync falling out of bed.

"What's so funny?" Sync hisses, bringing my mind back to him. I bite my lip, and he groans. He's getting sick of this, real quick. He's irritated and tired, not a good combination, not for him, not for anyone. I pull my knees even closer to my chest, trying to come up with something, but it's not working. Not well enough, at least.

Sync groans and leans back against a wall, his mind spinning. It's giving me a bit of a headache, but by focusing on the floor and the little scuff marks on it, I can sort of drown it out.

"Alright, let's try this," he grumbles, coming back over. I look up at him, but I try to focus on something other than him, because he's still giving me a headache. "I'll ask you some yes or no questions. You have to answer all of them, and 'maybe' isn't an acceptable answer."

I flinch slightly. This won't end well. Not with my Fae blood, it won't. But then I sigh. "Fine," I mumble. Sync crosses his arms, and I flinch again, though my face is mostly hidden by my bangs and arms. This time, it's at the thoughts flying through Sync's mind, though it's not just their speed that has me uncomfortable now.

Before Sync can voice his first question though, I look at the door in confusion. I hadn't realized that she had woken.

Arietta knocks on the door mere seconds after I catch wind of her thoughts. Sync looks from me, to the door, back to me, and then goes to the door and opens it.

"Where's Mithri?" she demands, albeit quietly. Sync scowls.

"I'm in the middle of an interrogation. Go away," he replies. I resist the urge to laugh at the tone of his voice. Arietta glares at him though.

"Mithri, are you alright?" she asks. I nod.

"I'm fine. You can go back to bed," I tell her. Arietta turns to look at me for a moment, then glares at Sync.

"He hasn't hurt you, has he?" she asks. I roll my eyes.

"If I were hurt, I'd be begging you to get me out of here. As it is… Just…" I mumble. Then I sigh. "Go back to sleep, Arietta. He won't hurt me if he knows what's good for him. And I doubt he'll let me go back to sleep either."

Arietta's thoughts whir for a moment before she yawns and gives in. "Alright, Mithri," she concedes. Her glare at Sync hardens. "But if you so much as scratch her…" she threatens. I roll my eyes, and Sync seems to agree.

Finally, Arietta leaves, and Sync closes the door and turns back to me. "Alright, now where were we?" he grumbles. I sigh.

"Yes or no questions," I moan, once again cursing my Fae blood. Sync smirks, though he doesn't know that I have to be truthful because of my Fae heritage. He just knows that I tend to be very truthful.

He's thoughtful for a moment before he asks his first question. "Did you know Arietta was outside the door?"

I sigh. "Yes."

He thinks for a while longer. "Did you hear her walk up to it?"

I mentally curse my bad luck. Of course he would phrase it that way. "No," I answer grudgingly. His next question follows that one up very quickly in comparison to the gap between the first and second questions.

"Did you know she would be there because she was awake?"

"Yes." I cringe internally at the next question he's playing around with in his mind.

He doesn't ask it though, nor does he ask the next question that comes to his mind. He's trying to put together the pieces of a puzzle where no two touching pieces are the same color, and so far, he's managed to assemble approximately eight of the two hundred pieces into one of the four corners.

Which is not good.

Then he finally decides on a question, and I admit, it's quite the jump from the questions about my knowledge of Arietta being awake.

"Did you wake of your own devices when you left your cabin to wander about the Tartarus?"

I want to say yes, but my body denies me that privilege. I try arguing with myself. It's true, because I pulled myself out of his nightmare. I woke because I wanted out of his memories.

Except my Fae blood keeps saying no to that. I sigh. "No," I finally answer, even though it was just a moment ago that he asked, it seems like half an eternity to me.

Sync is starting to put more of the puzzle together. "You woke due to a nightmare?" he asks. I sigh.

"Yes," I mumbled. He crosses his arms.

"And it involved fire?"

"Yes."

"Running?"

I groan and just give up. "Yes. Fire, running, terror, fire, rock, more fire, burning, pain, terror…" I grumble. Sync's fist clenches as my words bring back his nightmare… no, his _memories_ from the deep recesses of his mind where they like to torment him. And me, apparently.

"You saw my memories," he says. I'm not certain if he's trying to phrase it as a statement or a question. If it's a statement, I already know, but then, he doesn't know that.

"Memories?" I ask. "What was going on?" I wonder quietly, not exactly meaning for him to hear. Hear he does, however.

He turns his back to me for a moment before he starts pacing. A while later, he looks over at the door.

"Is Arietta asleep again? And the others too?" he asks. I tilt my head to the side.

"What makes you think I'd know?" I inquire. Sync shoots a glare at me, and it's then that I realize he's taken off the mask.

"I'm trying to figure out how your ability works, since you seem to be so set on keeping it a secret. From what I've managed to gather, you can tell when someone's awake or asleep and you can see into their dreams," he tells me. I grin internally. He's given me a loophole that I can use if I ever slip up.

A neutral expression remains on my face though. "Arietta's awake, but one of the ligers is in a rather perfect state of half-sleep. She's sitting on her bunk, waiting for me. Largo, Asch, and Legretta are all very much asleep. And I think Dist had to relieve himself. He woke rather suddenly," I tell him.

He seems content with that answer. His thoughts are spinning still, but I've found that if I block everyone except him out, I can listen without giving myself a headache. His thoughts tell me all I need to know, but he seems to have made up his mind about something.

"I don't want you telling anyone else about this," he starts.

"My ability or your nightmare?" I ask. Sync crosses his arms and leans against the wall.

"Both," he replies. "So I'm going to tell you what happened, because I know if I don't, you'll just ask someone else, and that'll cause problems for the both of us."

He takes a minute to get his thoughts in line, then sighs. "How much of that did you see?" he asks. He doesn't want to tell me more than he has to.

I stretch the truth a little, using the memories I've seen him bring to the surface since I came in here as an excuse for my Fae blood. "I remember seeing a bunch of Ions, and then there was a lot of fire and running," I tell him. "I woke up to someone standing over you, and your thoughts screaming to run. I was able to block the rest out."

Sync sighs. "Great. All the way from the beginning then," he mumbles. Then, raising his voice so I can hear, he asks, "You know what fomicry is, don't you?" I nod. "Fon Master Ion was sick and dying," he begins. "So Mohs and Van decided to make a replica. They ended up making seven by the time they finally got one whose abilities were close enough to the original's to pass for him."

"So, the seventh replica is the Ion I know?" I ask. Sync nods.

"The rest of us were thrown into the mouth of the Mt. Zaleho volcano," he says. I pull my knees to my chest and prop my head up onto them.

"That's why there was so much fire," I say, pretending to be working it out. I've already got all the answers I need, but since Sync thinks my ability only stretches to those who are asleep, I have to pretend.

Sync sighs. "The man you saw right before you woke up was Van. He thought I might be useful, so he took me back to Daath," he adds. I nod, simply sitting on the chair and thinking.

The two of us stand in silence for a while. Sync watches me, trying to gauge my reaction, but my face remains perfectly neutral, just as it always has. I look up at him and smile a bit, but we can both tell it's half-hearted on my part.

We've been there for a while when I yawn and look out the porthole, unsurprised to find that the sky is lighter than it should be. I unfold myself and stand, heading over toward the door.

"Mithri… You can't tell anyone, alright?" I hear Sync say behind me. I smile and call upon my very limited Fae magic for this one.

When I turn around, the genuine smile on my face startles Sync for a moment. "I promise I'll never breathe a word of this unless you tell me I can," I tell him. He opens his mouth, then closes it and smirks, though I think it's supposed to be more of a smile.

"Alright. I won't tell anyone either," he tells me. I nod and open the door, heading down toward the cabin Arietta and I share. She's asleep, so I enter the room as quietly as I can and slip back onto my bunk. There may not be much time between now and sunrise, but I might as well try to get some sleep.

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**Winx: So then. I think I prefer how this chapter turned out as opposed to the original version I wrote of it which was on paper. Anyway, please don't forget to drop a review! And I'll be... typing.**


	11. Chapter 10, Rishu Calovari

**Winx: Oops... Okay, so, I was having problems with this chapter, because my plot bunnies would not help it along, and then I finally got it written up, planned to update it... and I'm about ten days late on that. (Ask Doveflight if you don't believe me.) Anyway, here is Chapter 10, finally, and hopefully I'll have the second of the Guardian Chronicles out sometime in the next two weeks or so. No promises, but at least I'm trying. I don't own anything other than OC's, so enjoy!**

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_Of all the gay birds that e'er I did see,  
__The owl is the fairest by far to me,  
__For all day long she sits in a tree,  
__And when the night comes away flies she._

**Boundaries of the Mind  
****Chapter 10  
****Rishu Calovari**

Jade sighs. "Alright, where is she now?" he mutters. Luke stops and looks around, finally seeming to notice the missing member of their party.

"Good question," he agrees.

"Mieu… I think she left this for you, Jade," Mieu pipes up, holding up an envelope. The colonel takes it and frowns at the handwriting on the front.

"That's Mana's handwriting alright. But what on earth is she up to now…?" he mutters out loud, opening the envelope and quickly reading over the letter inside.

_**Sorry, Jade.**_

_**Alyna'aou and I are due home soon, but Kuri really wanted to find Mithri, so we're gonna try to sneak her onto the Tartarus before we leave. Don't bother looking for us, because we'll have already left Baticul by the time anyone finds this letter. (Probably Mieu, because I'm planning on putting it in Luke's bag.)**_

_**Anyway, do me a favor? Keep an eye out for a girl that looks an awful lot like me, but with pink hair.**_

_**Hoping to see you again sometime,**_

_**Mana Mewlin**_

Jade sighs. "Let's get going, then," he prompts, sticking the letter into his pocket. Guy crosses his arms.

"Is she not coming?" he asks. Jade shakes his head.

"No," he says simply. Guy sighs and scratches his head, then turns and points to the aircar to their relative left.

"That's where we're headed, then," he says. "That aircar will take us to the abandoned factory, and we can go through there to get out of the city."

Luke nods and starts toward the aircar, the others following him. "Hmm, that's odd," Guy comments as they stop just short of the aircar. "There's usually a guard here because the factory's off-limits."

"If you're looking for the guard that was stationed here, he just got called to the castle," a passerby remarks. "I wonder why that place is so popular all of a sudden. I just saw another young lady get on the aircar not long ago," he adds before walking off. Guy crosses his arms.

"Anyone else suspicious now?" he asks. Luke shrugs.

"Oh well. Let's just get on and go," he replies.

A few moments later, the group gets off of the aircar and starts to head deeper into the factory.

"I found you," a voice calls out triumphantly. Guy scratches his head and turns around to find a blonde girl standing behind them, a smug smile on her face.

"Natalia!? What are you doing here?" Luke cries. She walks over to them and puts her hands on her hips.

"Two countries are about to make peace! This is no time for a princess to be sitting at home!" she insists.

Natalia looks ready to continue her rant, but a cry of pain stops all of them in their tracks. "What was that?" Anise asks worriedly.

"That scream sounded human," Tear adds. Luke runs further into the factory as a second cry rings out.

"Come on, we have to help them!" he yells over his shoulder. Without hesitation, the other five follow.

What they find is nothing short of a nightmare. A boy who can't be much older than Anise is kneeling in a puddle of what has to be his own blood, his brown vest and sand-colored shirt stained red in multiple places. His breathing is labored, and there are four monsters almost right on top of him, ready for the kill.

"O violent torrent… Splash!"

"O soothing light… Heal!"

Jade's arte wipes out two of the monsters, while Natalia's is aimed for the boy. He glances over his shoulder gratefully, revealing almost neon-green eyes half-hidden by bronze bangs.

As a bat makes its way for him, he stands shakily and slashes at it with the dagger in his left hand, managing to finish it off, while Luke unleashes a Fang Blade on the last of the monsters.

The boy stumbles and falls to his knees again, only to have a second healing arte, this time from Tear, surround him.

"Thanks," he says quietly, the dagger disappearing and his eyes becoming a bit more muted. "I'd have been done for if you all hadn't shown up when you did," he adds, carefully trying to stand, only to wobble over again.

This time, Jade catches him before he can hit the ground. "What on earth were you doing in here?" he asks, carefully releasing his hold. The boy shrugs.

"Hell if I know, and that's saying something. One minute, we're all sitting around, trying to figure out how we're gonna find a friend of ours. The next, this weird blue-green glow surrounds all of us and I black out…" he replies, folding one arm across his chest and propping the other elbow on his wrist. Then his eyes widen slightly. "Oh no… If I'm here, then… What if the others got transported again, too? I've got to find them!"

And then he stumbles and falls again.

"Careful!" Tear cries, running to his side. "Are you still injured?"

The boy shakes his head. "No, just tired. I used up a lot of energy fending those things off… Ugh, and I'm gonna have to find my cleansing tag as soon as I've got the energy for it," he grumbles. Then he looks up at the group, looking them over one by one. "By the way… Who are you guys?"

Jade adjusts his glasses. "Colonel Jade Curtiss," he says quickly.

"Tear Grants," Tear adds, standing and holding out a hand to help the boy to his feet again.

"Anise Tatlin," Anise chirps happily.

"Guy Cecil," Guy says, holding out a hand. The boy shakes it politely and turns to the last two, only to find a cheagle bouncing up in front of him.

"I'm Mieu!" Mieu informs him cheerfully.

"Luke fon Fabre," Luke mutters, shooting a glare at the blue fur-ball. Natalia sighs.

"Natalia Lanvaldear," she says simply. "And you are?"

"Rishu Calovari," he replies. Then he looks around and sighs. "Do you mind if I tag along for a little while? I am totally lost and not in the greatest shape."

Guy looks over the rest of the group. "Well, we could send him back to Baticul with Natalia," he suggests. Natalia glares at him.

"No! I'm coming with you!" she insists. She looks over at Luke. "You'll let me come, won't you?" she asks, walking over and saying something quietly that no one else hears. Luke's expression immediately becomes worried, and the next thing anyone knows, Luke is dragging her off to the side.

"What's that about?" Rishu wonders quietly. Jade sighs.

"I'm afraid I neither know nor care," he replies. Rishu smirks.

"Sounds kinda like Mithri," he says quietly. Jade looks down at him in surprise.

"Allura Reighn?" he asks as Luke and Natalia walk back over. Luke frowns.

"What? What does Mithri have to do with anything?" he wonders. Rishu's expression changes to shock.

"Whoa, whoa, back up. You guys know Mithri?" he asks, wide eyes looking at each of them. Jade nods.

"Yes, although that's a rather long story I'd rather not tell right this moment," he replies. Rishu looks from him to Luke, concern in his eye.

"Then, she's alright?" he asks. Luke's gaze falls to the ground.

"We… don't really know. She's with the God-Generals, and… they're kind of…" he trails off. Rishu's expression becomes grave.

"Enemies?" he supplies. Luke doesn't answer, but he doesn't have to. The look on his face tells Rishu everything he needs to know. "Then, she's helping them?"

Jade adjusts his glasses. "Not that we're aware of. She was going to help us, but the God-Generals attacked the Tartarus. She's not a prisoner, exactly, but…" he says. Rishu nods.

"She's probably playing neutral. Mithri's pretty good at that. Actually, she's pretty good at disappearing from almost much anything if you let her," he replies. Tear smiles.

"Oh yes, I think that poor coachman noticed," she comments. "Now, are we going to get going, or not?"

"Yeah. And Natalia's coming with us," Luke says. He looks over at the younger boy. "Are you coming too, then?"

Rishu nods. "Yeah. It sounds like you guys are going to try to find Mithri, which means we have a goal in common," he replies. Looking over his clothing again, he frowns. "This is gonna be a pain to deal with later."

Tear looks thoughtful. "If we could find a healing circle like the ones they put in inns, it would take the blood out, but…" she trails off. Rishu shrugs.

"Whatever. I'll just take care of it later. Where are we going now?" he asks. Guy sighs and looks around.

"Good question," he mutters, looking around the dark area.

"Mieeuu, this barrel's stinky!" Mieu whines. Rishu takes a moment to stop and sniff, scrunching up his nose.

"Oil…" he says quietly. "Wait… Cheagles breathe fire, right?" he asks. Luke nods, then looks like he's gotten an idea.

"Hey, if we light up the oil, we'll have something to see by!" he realizes. Rishu nods as the redhead walks over to the cheagle and picks it up, aiming at the barrel of oil.

The sudden light causes everyone to flinch slightly before Guy smiles and walks over to a machine, hitting a button. "Alright, let's get going," he prompts.

Two hours later, the group steps off of yet another aircar. "Ugh, are we almost there yet?" Luke grumbles. Rishu frowns and stops, looking around cautiously.

"Careful, Luke. There's something here," he warns. Luke stops and looks around for a moment.

"It's just us, Rishu," he groans. Then he cries out in disgust.

"What is that?!" Natalia asks, holding a hand over her nose. Rishu continues looking around, then points up.

"Natalia, look out!" Tear cries, running forward to pull the blonde back as something drops.

"I told you there was something here," Rishu mutters, his dagger reappearing as he runs forward. Luke and Guy are at his side in moments, leaving Jade, Anise, and Tear back to cast while Natalia shoots off as many arrows as she can.

As Anise lets off another Limited, Rishu jumps back and starts digging around in his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper with a brown stone dangling from a black string. Lifting the paper in the air, Rishu mutters something and the stone begins to glow for a moment.

Then, in the remains of the FOF left by Anise's Limited, an arte erupts. Anise gasps.

"Hey, that was Eruption!" she cries. Rishu wobbles a bit before sticking the tag back into his pocket.

"Whatever," he mutters, running back over to slash at the monster with his dagger for a bit. Tear and Natalia exchange a look before Natalia pulls a gel out of her bag.

"Rishu, here!" she cries, holding it up. The bronze-haired boy jumps back away from the Abbadon before running over to her to take the gel and pop it into his mouth, though not without giving it a questioning look. A moment later, a pleasantly surprised look on his face, he starts digging through his pocket again, this time drawing out a tag with a violet stone and holding it up to mutter something.

This time, Negative Gate erupts on top of the monster, knocking the remains of the goo it had been encased in off. Rishu looks down at the other three tags that are in his left hand and pulls the one with a blue stone out. Holding it up, it begins to glow.

Two masses of water reach up and, like jaws, close around the Abbadon. Rishu is about to return the tag to his hand, but he hesitates as Jade lets off a second Turbulance. Holding the tag into the air again, he unleashes the arte upon the Abbadon once more.

This time, however, it absorbs the FOF and, rather than jaws of water reaching up, it forms into a spear of ice and wind that slashes into the monster from one side, then the other, before stabbing through the Abbadon. Luke takes the opening to hack and slash at the monster, finishing it off with a Fang Blade.

As the monster's fonons separate, the group takes a much-needed breather. Rishu, after relaxing for a moment, pulls another tag from his pocket.

This one has no stone, and the ink of the inscription is blue, rather than black. He smiles slightly as he holds it up, and a blue glow surrounds him. When the glow fades, his clothes are no longer bloodied. "Well, that's certainly better," the boy mutters.

Jade adjusts his glasses and walks over to Rishu quietly. "May I see that for a moment?" he asks, pointing to the tag that is still in Rishu's hand. The boy shrugs and hands it over without complaint for Jade to scrutinize. Jade holds the tag out for Rishu to take back. "Could I also see one of the ones you used during the battle?"

"Any one in particular?" Rishu asks. Jade shakes his head 'no', and Rishu hands over one without even glancing at the stone, which turns out to be violet.

After examining the intricate glyph on the tag and then the stone, Jade gives it back to the boy. "Did you make those yourself?" he asks. Rishu shrugs.

"I came up with the theory after listening to Lora translating a few passages in Arani's lexicon. Mithri copied the glyphs out of the lexicon, and Maeve found the stones, so really it was more of a group effort. Seems I'm the only one that can use them, though, even if I have pretty much no idea exactly what they do. And even then, aside from the cleansing tag, I can only use four, because the others drain too much of my strength," he explains. Jade raises an eyebrow.

"How many do you have?" he asks.

Rishu frowns. "Three each of the blue and brown, two violet, and then there's the one red, which I can use, and one golden-yellow, which I can't," he replies. "Any particular reason why you're interested?"

Jade shrugs. "I just thought it was an interesting way to use fonic artes. Less time, but if the exhaustion you're obviously showing is any indication, that speed comes at a cost," he says. "Which four can you use, again?"

Rishu sighs and pulls out four tags, and Jade points to the violet. "That one is Negative Gate, and this one is Stalagmite," he says, pointing to the brown. "Anise and I use those regularly. This one, I've no idea about, since you didn't use it and I'll admit that I can't read whatever language those glyphs were written it," Jade adds, gesturing to the tag with the red stone.

"What's the blue one?" Natalia asks curiously. Jade adjusts his glasses.

"The blue one is an arte I've only ever read about. It's only theoretical, because it consumes large amounts of fonons while still being considered a low-level arte. If I remember correctly, it's called Leviathan, and in a third-fonon based field of fonons, it turns into an arte called Wyvern," he explains. Rishu shrugs.

"I should ask Mithri about it whenever we find her. Maybe she'll know more. I mean, these glyphs came out of that lexicon she's always carrying around," he says. "Now, on a totally different subject, can we leave? Because, if I'm correct, there's an exit over there," he tells the others, pointing. "And the oil smell is starting to get to me. All things considered, that's saying something."

* * *

"You really just… uh… arg!"

"Mithri?"

"Are you alright?!"

Mithri stumbles, her face screwed up in pain, and hisses as her legs collapse under her. Someone catches her, though who, she doesn't check.

"What the heck?!" Asch cries in shock. One minute, she had been reprimanding him, and the next… "Arietta was right. Something's wrong with her," he mutters. Then he looks over his shoulder at the Oracle Knights standing there. "Take the Fon Master on board, and someone inform Arietta that Mithri's collapsed again," he orders. The Oracle Knights nod and one of them runs off while the other starts to usher Ion into the landship.

"Mithri, can you hear me?" Ion asks worriedly. Mithri opens her eyes for a moment, then squeezes them shut again and clenches her jaw.

"Ah!" she screams, before forcing her jaw shut again. The Oracle Knight manages to get Ion into the Tartarus before another voice rings out.

"What's going on?"

Asch looks up from where he's kneeling next to Mithri, an expression of utter bewilderment on his face. Legretta reaches the bottom of the stairs and watches the whimpering, writhing girl with pity in her eye.

"I understand now why Arietta was so concerned about her. Seeing her like this…" Legretta trails off. "Get her onto the Tartarus, Sync. Hopefully she'll recover quickly," the blonde orders the boy who is awkwardly holding Mithri. Sync nods, not entirely certain what else to do as he carefully picks up the still-whimpering but now limp girl.

As he reaches the stairway into the Tartarus, however, a voice rings out in the rain.

"Mithri!"

* * *

**Winx: Heh, heh... Yeah, remember back in the Cheagle Woods, with the liger queen? Yeah... Whoops... Jade and Rishu? Together? Around a very unprepared Mithri? ...Ouch. Anyway, please leave a review! (Don't let me forget about this story!) I'll be back... sooner or later...**


	12. Guardian Chronicles 2, Xikira

**Winx: So... Heh, almost forgot about this story again. (Oops...) So, here's the second of the Guardian Chronicles! Now, I would just drop this on you, but I'm going to explain something real quick.**

**The normal chapters switch between Mithri's POV and 3rd Person limited POV, usually someone who's with Mithri or one of the main party members. That's where the main part of the story is, but... These Guardian Chronicles, told 1st Person POV from one of the Guardians, are here to give you an idea of what's going on elsewhere. They are, in relation to each other, in perfect chronological order. However, in relation to the normal chapters, they aren't. I proved that with Guardian Chronicles I, Sakkaku. That takes place before and at the very beginning of Chapter One. (Remember when Lora told Mithri that she remembered someone mentioning fonons? Then when the Velis girl ran past Sakkaku and Devlin? Yup, there's your hint.)**

**This chapter takes place... Well, the majority of it occurs just before Chapter 10, because this is before Rishu gets to Auldrant. The first part happens immediately after Chapter 1 though. (If the timeline is confusing you, don't worry. You're not the only one.) There's a big time-skip that you shouldn't have any problems finding.**

**Also, there are a lot of Kingdom Hearts references in here because Xikira is one of Kairi's characters and she was born in a Kingdom Hearts fanfiction. There's also a Yu-Gi-Oh reference, but you can ignore that, since it's not important.**

**Most of these characters belong to Kairi, but some of them are mine! The worlds of Kelys, Aberunn, and Haden belong to Kairi, too. So... Enjoy! (I will be back as soon as possible with Chapter 11!)**

* * *

_Birds of a feather flock together,  
And so will pigs and swine;  
Rats and mice have their choice,  
And so will I have mine._

**Boundaries of the Mind  
Guardian Chronicles II  
(Xikira)**

"And I'm leaving Xikira here with you."

"What?!"

Needless to say, neither Sakkaku nor I am happy.

"Yup," Kairi replies cheerfully. I exchange a glance with the boy who is already an inch shorter than me without the heels I always wear.

"Why?" I ask simply. Kairi crosses her arms.

"Because I've got a feeling regarding one of Allura's friends. I've already got Sakkaku monitoring Lora Valeron, but I want you to watch out for the boy, Rishu. It's not like you're doing anything else right now, Xikira. I would know," she tells me. I sigh and run a hand through my bangs before adjusting my glasses.

"Fine. But only because I have nothing better to do," I grumbled. Kairi rolls her eyes.

"Why must you always be so stubborn?" she mutters. Sakkaku chuckles.

"She's your Nobody, Kairi. Of course you two are going to be so similar that you drive each other up a wall," he comments. I roll my eyes and snap my fingers, opening up a dark corridor.

"Go away," I grumble to my other, pointing to it. She smirks and disappears in a cloud of gold dust, and I groan before closing the portal again. Sakkaku shakes his head.

"Give it up, Xikira. You two are just never going to see eye to eye," he says. I shrug and walk off.

"Whatever. You're supposed to be teaching Lora how to control her teriques, right? Go," I prompt. He sighs, but I'm left in peace for a while, which is exactly what I want. It's been a while since Kairi and I have been separate like this. Makes me wonder what Xion's up to…

I frown at that thought. Sure, I can go check on my 'little sister', but then I'd be gone from here for days, even if I plan on only a short visit, because of the time differences between worlds.

I sigh. "Two hours. That's… crud. Ten days… No… Well, I'll see if I can cut that down to one hour. Hopefully…" I mutter before opening a dark corridor and stepping through. On a small, quiet, relatively out-of-the-way world like Kelys, things tend not to happen.

I pray silently for that to be the case while I'm gone.

* * *

But of course, things never go as planned.

After having to bail Xion out of four different messes (which took almost three days) and then spending five hours (yes, FIVE) running around Twilight Town, talking, shopping, and doing some general girl stuff, I finally made it back to Kelys.

If my mental math is correct, I have been gone for an entire year, and then some, because the Gold Rain season should be starting within the next week or so.

Well, fuck. Remind me again why I hate dimension-jumping?

"You've been gone for a long time, Xikira," Sakkaku comments as I walk into Kaingilv that day. I sigh.

"I went to go see Xion," I admit. "I hadn't planned on being there more than about an hour, but…" He sighs.

"Let me guess. She was caught up in more messes than she should have been and you, being the responsible and supportive older sister, bailed her out," he guesses. Well, more like recites. I scratch my neck awkwardly.

"Yeah, something like that," I reply. Sakkaku rolls his eyes.

"Whatever. You realize it's been a little over two months on Auldrant, right? Kairi said she was dropping Mithri into Tataroo Valley with Luke and Tear, so the main party should be getting back to Baticul any day now," he tells me. I sigh.

"The time differentials between the dimensions is really fucked up, you know that? Someone ought to find a way to make time pass the same everywhere," I groan. Sakkaku laughs.

"Yeah, well… I won't tell Kairi that you ran off if you don't tell her I took Sae'iri to Aberunn for the summer before getting caught up in something in Neo Domino," he says. I smile.

"Got it. So, uh… Where's your charge?" I ask. Sakkaku gestures for me to follow him, and he leads me to the fountain in the center of town.

Kaingilv hasn't changed much, but I barely recognize the three teens that stand in front of the fountain. The eldest of them, the girl who is half Velis, half Ferines, now stands almost six feet tall. She can't be more than a couple inches short of that, at least. The pink-haired girl no longer looks like a child anymore, either. Although, despite looking more like the young woman she's becoming, she's still shorter than Sakkaku. Maybe it's the Fae blood?

The boy, however. Like the half-Fae girl, he's barely grown, height-wise, but he looks older now.

Sakkaku and I lean against a couple of trees, not exactly hiding, but not we're not making it obvious that we're listening in either.

"You sure, Lora?" the pink-haired girl asks. Oh, what's her name…? Maeve?

Lora crosses her arms. "You have any better ideas?" she asks. Rishu sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

"Look, the theory's perfectly sound. At this point, we won't know anything until we try it," he tells them. Maeve sighs and shrugs, then leans against the wooden staff she's holding. Her white and blue dress is obviously based on a Ferines design, though I can see plenty of Fae influence.

Rishu rolls his eyes and looks pointedly at Lora. "Two weeks. Once school's out for the year, then we can go. We've waited long enough as it is," he states. Lora frowns.

"Not to be Jenny Rain-cloud here, but are you sure she's even still alive?" he asks. Rishu's eyes flash a dangerous neon, and I raise an eyebrow.

"You doubt that she is?" he demands. Lora shakes her head.

"No, but… It's almost like… there's something interfering. I can't feel her like I used to…" she says worriedly. Maeve shifts slightly, her expression somber.

"Maybe you're just freaking out, Lora. I mean, none of us has seen her for over a year. And while I don't doubt that she's okay, I… uh…" she trails off, her eyes seemingly clouding over. Rishu and Lora exchange glances that are caught somewhere between excitement and worry.

Maeve's eyes clear suddenly and she shakes her head as if to clear it. "Add another week to that departure date, Rishu," she says gravely. The boy crosses his arms with a frown.

"Why?" he wonders. Maeve looks at him, her expression caught somewhere between worry, guilt, and hope.

"Mana's coming home."

I look over at Sakkaku, and his eyes widen. He looks over at me for a moment before pulling me away, into the forest and to a clearing. Now that I think about it, this is the same clearing where Kairi and I separated a few days… er… a year ago…

I really, truly hate the time inconsistencies between dimensions.

"Okay… Now what?" I wonder, looking at the expression on Sakkaku's face.

"You know what Maeve's last name is, don't you?" he asks. I think for a moment and shake my head.

"Nope. Barely even remember her first name," I tell him. He looks at me, his crystal blue eyes showing all of the worry and fear that his face won't convey.

"It's Mewlin, Xikira. Maeve Mewlin," he states. I frown.

"So?" I prompt. Then, as the name Mewlin finally registers in my mind, my mouth opens slightly.

"You mean…? My gods…" I whisper, shock and horror etching themselves into my mind. "Mana Mewlin is… Maeve is…"

Sakkaku takes a deep breath. "Tesite and Temira Celebilin were destroyed with Haden. Kairi's been looking for the Harmony Twins for years, since she was a child, and certainly long before Miyoku was born," he says. I lean against a nearby tree for support.

"Mana and Maeve Mewlin are the Harmony Twins," I whisper. Sakkaku nods.

"We knew Mana was one when she showed up on Aberunn as a four-year old and immediately bonded with a purple hatchling that had been written off as one to be raised to adolescence and then released into the wild. And Alyna'aou is special. She's an adult, but she can revert to her hatchling form whenever she pleases," he states. "And Maeve… I don't know how I didn't see it before. Sure, their hair colors are different, but look at their faces, their eyes!"

I take a deep breath. "Sakkaku, shut up for a minute so I can think," I snap at him. He sits down without a word and simply stares at the grass.

Mana and Maeve are the Harmony Twins…

They can end this.

No, I hadn't been there, but I had all of Kairi's memories from before she became a heartless, plus all of the times we had been fused since then. I knew that Heylii had almost been stopped in Haden, because Tesite and Temira had stepped up and demanded an end to the fighting. Their powers would have balanced everything out again, ended the fighting there.

Heylii knew that.

If you ever meet a Fae who is willing to teleport you to any other world, never ask to go to Haden, because not only will they refuse, they will leave there and then, and you will likely never see another Fae ever again.

Haden was destroyed, to put it simply. Oh, the world itself still floats along in space, but it's almost lifeless. What life is there isn't friendly. Lesser demons, greater monsters, and the sun only shines four days out of the year.

Tesite and Temira had died in the first wave of pure darkness. The one that brought the lesser monsters with it. They hadn't been warriors, they hadn't been able to defend themselves. The Harmony Twins were dead, just like that.

And Kairi's home world had gone with them.

"We can't let Heylii find out about them," Sakkaku states, breaking me out of my thoughts. I look over to see his now-icy eyes boring into my own almost neon-green orbs. "Not yet, at least." He stands and turns toward the fountain, not leaving the clearing, simply looking in that direction.

I cross my arms. "It sounds like they're planning on using Lora's teriques to teleport out of here," I say slowly. "I just have to wonder… are you actively teaching her to control it, or the same passive style in which you were taught?"

Sakkaku looks over at me, a suspicious look on his face. "What do you have in mind, Xikira?" he asks. I push away from the tree and slowly make my way over to him.

"Show her the way, Sakkaku."

He looks at me confused before his eyes widen in shock. Only a second later, those almond eyes narrow. "You know it's illegal to remove the natives of a world from the world they belong in," he says. I cross my arms.

"I do, but Lora doesn't. Unless, of course, you're going to tell her," I reply. "And besides, if you're going to teach her to use every aspect of her teriques, that will include off-world 'ports. Besides, a short trip from Kelys to Auldrant and back never hurt anyone."

Sakkaku crossed his arms and opened his mouth to argue, then paused. "Heylii can't trace teriques 'ports," he realizes. I smirk. "And if Lora's planning to take Maeve and Rishu with her to Auldrant…" he continues.

"Maeve will insist on taking Mana along. Right off of her radar, both of them," I finish. Sakkaku smiles.

"Wow. It's times like these when I can see that you really are Kairi's Nobody, thinking like that," he comments. I roll my eyes.

"I think like that all the time, thank you. Now then, don't you have a certain half-Velis, half-Ferines girl to educate?" I prompt him. He grins and takes off running, towards the north, probably heading for the girl's home. I stretch and walk back to town, wondering where the local inn is.

* * *

I'm wandering around Kaingilv two and a half weeks later when I run into the woman. She's a couple inches taller than me, with brown hair and gold eyes, and for whatever reason, she looks familiar.

"Oh, I am so… sorry… Um… Kairi?" she asks, obviously uncertain. I frown. Well, that explains the familiarity. Someone from Kairi's memories, then.

"Not really. I'm her Nobody, Xikira," I tell her. She smiles and holds out a hand for me to shake.

"Rhunön Nelenor. Or, well… Rhunön Reighn, I suppose. Though at this point, I don't think it matters," she says. Her mind is obviously in many places at once, but both the names of Nelenor and Reighn catch my ear.

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Danté Nelenor, would you?" I ask. "Or Arani Reighn?"

Rhunön's expression changes at both names, first becoming curious, then… wistful? Yes, that has to be it.

"Aye, to both. Well, so to speak. Danté is my elder brother, and Arani… he was my husband. Our daughter Allura disappeared about a year ago, and…" she trails off. I cross my arms awkwardly. How was I supposed to tell this woman that her daughter was in the middle of a trial to become a Guardian?

"I fear she has taken after her father. I… I confess that I treated them both… well… less than they deserve. Arani… He left so long ago, and I was so scared that I would lose Allura… Our little Mithri… as well… I always pushed her away, pushed her to be more human, less Fae…" Rhunön rambles quietly. I awkwardly put an arm around her shoulder, and she leans into me, burying her eyes in my shoulder. "Please… have you heard anything? Of either of them?" she asks.

I sigh. "Did Arani ever tell you about the trials every Guardian has to face before they can actually become one?" I ask her. Rhunön nods and wipes her eyes, drying them up as the tears stop flowing.

"Yes. The Trial of World Order, the Trial of Faith, the Trial of Element, and the Trial of Choice," she lists. I take a deep breath.

"Mithri is currently working her way through the fist Trial," I tell her. Rhunön sits on the bench nearby and rests her elbows on her knees.

"Is she passing?" she asks. I bite my lip.

"I'm afraid I don't know. I was sent here to watch someone, one of her friends, and wasn't told anything beyond that," I tell her. She is silent for a long while before she looks up at me again.

"And Arani?"

I close my eyes and shake my head. "Kairi's predecessor, Tashinaka, sent him on a reconnaissance mission to a world where we knew Heylii held a lot of power. But, that was many years ago, and none of us have heard from him since," I say quietly. Rhunön buries her face in her hands again, and I bow my head for a moment before leaving.

Yes, it is possible that Arani Mythos Reighn still lives, but it's not probable. Not probable at all. And I don't think Allura will want to hear it either.

As I walk away, I spot Maeve grinning at a blue-haired girl, and I smile. So, the time has come.

* * *

**Winx: So, that's it for the second of the Guardian Chronicles. Yes, that was Mana that showed up there at the very end, which means that this is going to link to a scene that we'll find in a flashback later, which will then link to Rishu showing up in the Abandoned Factory. Yay... Now, off to go to some beta'ing for Kairi. (She's re-writing A Ripple in the Abyss.) Please leave a review on your way out! I'll be back ASAP!  
**


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